Wrath of the Wardens
by FalconHawk
Summary: (Sequel to Rise of the Wardens) The Archdemon is dead and the blight is over... or is it? In the Arling of Amaranthine a new darkspawn threat is rising, and the Heroes of Ferelden find themselves pitted a new darkspawn adversary every bit at dangerous as the Archdemon, and far more devious.
1. Prologue - Paragon

_Hello and welcome back to my own personal Dragon Age universe. First off let me say that if you haven't read 'Rise of the Wardens' then I would strongly advise you to do so before starting on this. Next let me say that while all six of my Wardens from the previous story will reappear in this one, Eebon, Kylae, and Dharr are going to be minor characters and will probably only appear a couple times. This story is mainly focused on Endrin, Roaran, and Tylis._

_As for secondary characters, Oghren won't be in this story either… sorry Oghren fans, but I never liked him. Some of the support characters from the game, such as Varel, the Glavonak brothers, and Woolsey are going to be heavily downplayed, if they even appear at all. There will also be several OC's to appear._

_Finally let just say that this is a pretty busy time for me right now. I'm going to be moving in less than a month, going on vacation for another month, and then I'll have to get resettled at my new place. So with that in mind, updates might be pretty slow at first. Please be patient with me, I promise I'm not going to abandon this story._

_Well, that's enough from me… I'll let Dharr pick it up from here._

* * *

Dharr Aeducan, Grey Warden, Paragon, and one of the Heroes of Ferelden stomped through the city streets of Orzammar, his blank targe on his left arm, the war axe that he'd carried on his year long quest tucked into his belt. His face was still scarred and hairless from his battle with the Archdemon, and now it was stained with blood, both the black blood of the darkspawn he'd been fighting, as well as his own red blood. Many of the dwarven citizens bowed in respect to him, others jumped out the way as he stormed past them. On his right side was Gorim, struggling to keep up with his ruined leg and crutch. On his left side was Sigrun, a new recruit in the Legion of the Dead and a promising scout, the black and red blood that covered her face as well also covered her casteless brand.

The veteran warrior, Dharr, threw open the inner doors of the Assembly chamber. "Harrowmont!" He yelled, ignoring any title that the dwarven king might claim. The deshyrs immediately halted in their most recent debate and looked towards the Grey Warden.

"Harrowmont!" Dharr yelled again.

On the far side of the room, King Pyral Harrowmont stood up from his stone hewn throne. As Dharr stomped into the center of the room he let his scarred shield slide off his arm and fall heavily to the floor. "Where are the Ferelden troops that were promised?!" Dharr demanded.

"They were not needed." Harrowmont answered, remaining at the top of the steps in front of the throne, forcing Dharr to look up at him, symbolism that was not lost on Dharr.

"Yes they were!" Dharr shouted. "The entire strategy to reclaim the thaig was dependent on their arrival!" He took out a rolled piece of paper from his belt and threw it at Harrowmont's feet. "That is a list of the lads and lasses who were killed when the spawn discovered us and we were forced to retreat… every one of their deaths is on your hands!" Dharr glared around at the rulers of Orzammar and growled, "You will allow the human soldiers into the city… or you will face me!" He turned towards Gorim and said in a much more gentle voice. "Stay here and make sure that it's done." Then he picked up his shield and spun on his heel to leave, Sigrun following him.

"We're stronger alone!" Harrowmont called at his back. "We Dwarva have always stood alone! It is the only way for us to continue!"

Dharr Aeducan slowly turned to glare hatefully at the older man who had once been his friend and mentor. "You are a fool!" Dharr shouted back. "Our empire has fallen! And what little we have managed to maintain is slowly being lost, both to the darkspawn and to traditionalist stoneheads like you! If I learned anything from the blight it was that no one can stand alone against the spawn! This is not a request, this is an order from your Paragon. Do as I say… or the next Proving will be fought to the death between Aeducan and Harrowmont!"

The Chamber of the Assembly was deathly quiet as Dharr stomped back out into the streets with Sigrun in tow.

"I think that went well." Sigrun said cheerfully as the two of them stepped back outside into the streets of the Diamond Quarter.

Dharr only growled as he made his way towards the Grey Warden compound. Although he was the only Warden in Orzammar, the compound was used as something of military headquarters, and since the dwarves had been at war with the darkspawn for countless lifetimes, it made sense that they would make their headquarters with the Grey Wardens.

"At least our assault on the thaig wasn't a complete failure." He finally spoke. "We found the location of Kal Hirol… and I think we should break away from our current operations and make that our primary target. I'll be in the Shaperate for probably the next few days researching everything I can on it, I need you to report back to your scouting unit and get me a report on Kal Hirol, what kind of condition it's in, the number of spawn inhabiting it, and so on. Just be sure that you keep all that selfless sacrifice in death to a bare minimum… I'll be needing the Legion when we assault the lost city."

"As you wish, Paragon!" Sigrun said, and turned to leave.

"One more thing." Dharr called after her, and the Legionnaire stopped and turned back towards her. "Be extra careful out there… with the Archdemon dead the darkspawn should have fallen into infighting and become even more primitive and less intelligent. But for some reason they're displaying a level of organization and sophistication that I haven't seen in the spawn before… even during the blight. There's something going on with them."

"As you wish, Paragon." Sigrun repeated.

* * *

_I remember in the epilogue texts for DA:O that if Harrowmont is made king, he essentially weakens Orzammar by further isolating it, and turning back the promised Ferelden aid. But now Dharr is living in Orzammar, and as a Paragon he outranks and overpowers even the king. I thought that a power struggle between the two of them would be interesting, and I may have to come back to that later._


	2. Unwelcoming Party

_I was surprised how much attention the prologue got from everyone, so thank you very much for that. Your interest constantly inspires me. This chapter as well as the next one are pretty hard to write just because there's so much going on and there's so many characters, so if you can offer up any helpful suggestions, I welcome them. Enjoy!_

* * *

Rhine was a small village on the southern border of the Arling of Amaranthine. There was nothing truly noteworthy about it, there were thousands of other towns and villages just like it, small communities that made a living off of farming and fishing. It was far enough north, and out of the way enough that it had been relatively untouched by the recent blight, although many of its sons and daughters had taken up arms to defend Ferelden against the darkspawn and some had never returned. Now, Rhine, along with the rest of the Arling was under the direct control of the Grey Wardens, given to the Wardens for their tremendous efforts and sacrifices during the blight.

At present, there was one Grey Warden in Rhine, or rather, a Grey Warden recruit. His name was Rowland, and he sat in the small tavern that the town provided, slowly sipping on a tankard of watered down ale and waiting for the arrival of Endrin Mahariel, the former Commander of the Grey, and rumored to be the one who struck the deathblow against the Archdemon and ended the blight. After offering his service to the Wardens at the conclusion of the battle, Rowland had briefly become acquainted with the Dalish Warden before she had returned to her people, although she had seemed to try and distance herself from the rest of them and had vanished almost as soon as the situation at Soldier's Peak had been resolved, saying she would return in six months. That had been six months ago to the day.

Rowland returned to his ale, tilting his head back as he drained the last of its contents, as he swallowed the last of it he heard the door behind him open, and he twisted around to see who had entered. His eyes were first drawn to the massive figure who was so tall that he had to duck to pass through the doorway, the odd violet hued eyes, ashen grey skin, and towering height of seven feet marked his as a qunari. To the best of Rowland's knowledge there was only one qunari in Ferelden, and that qunari's name was Sten, who had accompanied Endrin and her Wardens almost from the beginning of their quest, and had afterwards chosen to stay with Endrin rather than return home. If Sten was in Rhine now, then that meant that Endrin was certainly close by.

Rowland mentally kicked himself for not seeing her sooner, Endrin had actually entered the small tavern before Sten, but her much smaller size made her easily overlooked with the giant behind her. Most of her form was concealed under a dark green, hooded cloak. Only the bottom half of her face was visible, but even from where Rowland sat he could see the tattoo, the vallaslin as she called it that marked her face. Her body was protected by the now famous set of green dragon scale armor that Sten had gifted her with. Rowland could see the longbow and large quiver of arrows over one of her shoulders. He couldn't remember exactly what she had called the bow, only that it was named for one of her gods.

Although Endrin's eyes were invisible from beneath the hood, Rowland could tell that they had locked onto him and Endrin pushed the hood back, a friendly smile now marking her face.

"To the Hero of Ferelden!" One of the tavern's patrons called as he lifted his mug in her direction. "The savior of us all!"

The reaction in the tavern was instantaneous, as was Endrin's own reaction. Every eye was turned to her, and ever cup raised in a toast, several voices cheered her arrival. Endrin's smile changed from friendly to embarrassed. She gave a small bow in acknowledgment and waved at the crowd. "Ma serannas!" She called once the noise had died down, "Thank you all for your welcome." Then she moved around the room, exchanging pleasantries and making small talk with the various people before coming to Rowland.

"It's Rowland, isn't it?" She asked.

"It is mam."

Endrin blinked once before replying, "Just call me Endrin, not mam, or ser, and for the love of the Creators not 'my lady'."

Now it was Rowland who smiled in an embarrassed way. "As you wish, Endrin. Are you ready for me to take you to Vigil's Keep?"

Endrin nodded and turned, walking back towards the door, past the towering Sten and back outside into the dying light of evening. She waited for Rowland to take the lead on the unfamiliar roads, then walked by his side. Her emerald green eyes already scanning for both suitable animals to hunt, and for darkspawn or anything else that might mean them harm.

"How was your time among your people?" Rowland asked, hoping to draw the hero into conversation.

"Rejuvenating." Endrin answered happily. "Frustrating too, but in a good way I suppose."

"How is that?"

"The Elvhen have not had a homeland of their own for centuries. Now we finally do! But it's unfamiliar to us, and the nomadic lifestyle is hard to change. It's difficult to turn from hunting to farming, to go from living in our aravels to houses, and we have been trying to relearn the ways of combat and soldiery." She glanced back and Sten and nodded. "Sten has proven invaluable as far as that goes. We have to learn how to govern ourselves as a nation again, rather than as clans." Endrin frowned and her pace slowed marginally as she said, "And I am trying to teach my people to look to the future rather than live in the past." Her frown deepened. "It seems that the Elvhen are as stubborn as humans."

"I see." Rowland answered, although he didn't. Like most humans, Rowland know absolutely nothing about the Dalish beyond the rumors and stories that circulated the kingdom.

"How have things been at Vigil's Keep?" Endrin asked.

"Well enough I suppose." He answered, his upper lip curled back slightly as he said, "About a dozen _Orlesian_ Wardens arrived several months ago to bolster our forces. Until recently, Roaran was the other Grey Warden, although he's made himself scarce around the keep, usually he's in Amaranthine drinking, stealing, and whoring."

Endrin threw back her head and laughed loudly, behind her, Sten allowed himself a quiet laugh as well. "He'll never change!" Endrin laughed again. "Not that I'd want him to… And Tylis? Is he as the keep as well?"

"Oh yes, he arrived a few days ago. He's having a bit of a hard time adjusting to his new position as the resident commander, but we're all happy to have him… even if he is still a boy."

"He's no boy!" Endrin glared sharply at Rowland, and the soldier shrank back from her sudden anger. "He's done more than most men do in their entire lives! He saved all of us during the battle with the Archdemon, and we never could have killed it without him!"

"I'm sorry." Rowland said, holding up his hands in peace. "I didn't mean to disrespect or belittle him… he still just so young."

Endrin hummed and walked in silence for a few minutes before asking, "Aside from you, Mhairi, and Kensha, are there any other new recruits?"

Rowland nodded. "Yes, several. And Commander Eebon has sent word that are at least a dozen more at Soldier's Peak. He and Kylae are bringing them to Vigil's Keep for the Joining, they should arrive roughly the same time we do."

Endrin smiled at the thought of seeing her surrogate brother again, and her lethallan, Kylae. If only Dharr could be there was well. Then she frowned at the thought of Joining and what came with it. "Creators help them." She quietly whispered.

* * *

Tylis Amell sat at his desk, field reports from all over the eastern half of Ferelden spread out in front of him, most were scouting reports that detailed darkspawn activity, while others were requests for the Grey Wardens aid. Tylis frowned at the latter, a good number of them were from honest citizens just trying to make their way in the world and reaching out for help, but the Grey Wardens were not a charity organization, they were the bane of the darkspawn, nothing more. He didn't look forward to writing replies and telling them such. The report he was missing however was from one of the Orlesian Wardens, the second highest ranking, and son of a former Warden Commander of Orlais, Kristoff.

Kristoff it seemed was a bit of rogue, preferring to work on his own, and largely keeping to himself. When the darkspawn did not retreat to the Deep Roads as was expected of them, but stayed on the surface to cause panic, death, and chaos, Kristoff took it on himself to find out why and set out alone. According the lead Orlesian, a Senior Warden by the name of Andre, Kristoff had been sending reports of progress every week like clockwork, but two weeks ago, the reports had stopped. Tylis frowned again as he thought about what might have befallen Kristoff. The next time he saw Roaran, he would have him start asking around with his numerous contacts in the city of Amaranthine.

Hearing footsteps outside the door of his personal office Tylis looked up from his work and waited for a few seconds before the door was opened, allowing Sergeant Maverlies to enter. Having only recently arrived at Vigil's Keep himself, Tylis wasn't very familiar with Samantha Maverlies, really the only thing he knew about her was that she was one of the few soldiers from Rendon Howe's reign who was allowed to stay on, and so far she hadn't given him any reason to doubt her allegiance.

"Warden Commander," Maverlies said, "Two templars have arrived at the Vigil with an apostate mage in tow."

Tylis lifted his eyebrows in curiosity. "Templars?" He repeated. "And what are they doing here? This isn't Kinloch Hold, neither is it any other arm of the chantry."

"Yes Commander, I told them as much, but they claim they only seek shelter for the night. I thought it would be best if I bring the matter to you."

Tylis sighed as he stood up. "Fine." He said quietly. "Let me go and see them." He glanced at the ancient set of elven armor that rested in a corner of his office, then decided against it, taking only Revas with him, more for the sake of ceremony than anything else. Revas itself being a one of a kind weapon designed by Tylis during his quest to stop the blight. It consisted of a heartwood shaft, lined on two sides with lyrium runes to enhance his spellcasting abilities, and a sword-like blade on the top to deal with enemies should a more martial approach be called for.

'_Well this is a position I never thought I'd find myself in._' Tylis thought to himself as he followed the sergeant down the stairs and towards the throne room. Tylis himself didn't harbor any particularly hostile feelings towards templars, although being a former Circle Mage himself, he usually tended to side with the mages when there was a conflict. Unless this mage who was now inside his keep was a confirmed maleficar, Tylis would much rather take the mage into his own 'custody' and send them templars packing. But he didn't have the luxury of acting on his own personal wants and desires anymore. He was the second highest ranking Warden in all of Ferelden, and he had to think about his actions would affect the order and how the kingdom would view them all, so as much as it might pain him, he knew had to make nice with the chantry.

A few steps ahead of Tylis, Sergeant Maverlies opened the door to the throne room and stood to one side, letting her commander be the first to enter. Tylis made his way into the large room, looked up, and came to an abrupt stop, totally dumbfounded. "Anders?" He said the name in surprise.

"Tylis?" The captured mage returned. "I'd heard that one of the Heroes of Ferelden was a Circle Mage… but imagine my surprise! Don't suppose you could help an apostate out?"

"Silence apostate!" One of the templars growled from beneath his helmet.

Tylis frowned again, both at Anders and the templar, then he took a few moments to analyze his old acquaintance. The last time Tylis had seen him was almost three years ago, when they'd both been apprentices at Kinloch Hold. If memory served, the last Tylis had seen him he was being dragged down to the cells where the kept troublesome mages by two templars after his escape by swimming across the lake… an impressive feat to be sure. Anders was several years older than Tylis, and their blond hair was almost the same shade, but Anders' was longer and pulled back in a short ponytail, a single gold earring hung from his right earlobe, and several days worth of stubble covered his face. He still wore robes of the Circle, which he'd modified to closely resemble the robes worn by Tevinter archons. Anders always had been meticulous about his appearance.

Behind Tylis, Maverlies cleared her throat and Tylis blinked several times before addressing the templars. "Sorry about that… I am High Warden Tylis Amell. Commander of Vigil's Keep. How can I be of service?"

One of the templars muttered, "Another mage… wonderful! And who let the boy have free reign of an entire arling?"

The templar might of thought that he was being quiet, but Tylis still heard him and as he glanced back at Sergeant Maverlies, he saw that she did as well. Tylis nodded at her and the soldier stepped forward. "Is it customary in Ferelden for guests to insult their host now?!"

"I apologize—" The templar started, but Maverlies cut him off.

"Silence!" She growled, then she looked to the second templar and said in a less hostile voice, "The Commander has asked you a question, you had best answer him."

The second templar shook his head at his compatriot before removing his helm. "We recovered this runaway mage in Denerim and are currently in the process of returning him to the Circle of Magi. We respectfully ask for permission to stay here for the night, and a hot meal. You have our word that we will depart in the morning."

Tylis glared hatefully at the first templar before answering the second. "Your request is granted. But only on the condition that Anders is not kept in the dungeon."

Anders head jerked up in surprise, and before either templar could object, Tylis continued. "I will keep Anders with me, and should he somehow manage to escape then I will take full responsibility. You either accept to my terms or you can travel to Amaranthine and pay for room and board… and that's a long walk." Tylis smirked at the last comment.

"We accept." The second templar agreed.

"Good." Tylis smiled. So far he was liking his newfound authority. "Then follow me to the dining room. I'm hungry enough as it is. Care to join us Sergeant?"

"Regretfully no, Commander." Maverlies answered. "I have other duties I need to attend to. I'll let the seneschal know about what transpired here."

"Damn shame!" Anders said as he happily fell in beside Tylis and the two mages started towards the dining room, the templars behind them. "Some female company would have been nice before I'm shipped back to the Tower… and she's not a bad looking one herself."

Tylis rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly. "So how many escape attempts is this for you?"

"Seven." Anders stated with pride.

Tylis chuckled again. "Impressive." Then he abruptly stopped as he felt a familiar and altogether unwelcome prickling sensation in his forehead, there were darkspawn nearby, and a lot of them. Tylis raised his weapon and as he brought it down the lines of runes flared to life with a brilliant blue glow. Anders jumped back in surprise and the two templars both drew their swords in defense of what they feared was a surprise attack.

"Not me you fools!" Tylis yelled, "There are darkspawn here! To arms! Everyone to arms! We're under attack!"

* * *

Rowland had been talking for the last several miles about the various people who Endrin would meet at the Vigil as he called it. He'd started out talking about some of the soldiers and servants he'd come to know, as well as the other Warden recruits, namely Mhairi and Kensha. It sounded like he and Mhairi had become friends, but he tended to avoid Kensha whenever possible. Endrin herself still didn't understand what was so bad about blood mages and why they were so feared. Most Dalish, herself included, had only a rudimentary knowledge of magic and how it worked, and while her understanding had grown during her time with Tylis, the subject of blood magic had never really come up, and Endrin barely knew Kensha.

Gradually, the primarily one-sided conversation turned to the subject of the Orlesian Wardens, and that was when Endrin started to fade out. She gathered that Rowland carried a heavy distrust, or even hatred of the Orlesians, but most of his reasoning seemed to stem from the Orlesian occupation, which Endrin knew he was too young to even be alive for. Endrin found herself looking forward to meeting the foreigners, if only so that she could finally make her own assessment of them.

"Endrin." Sten's voice quietly rumbled from behind her and Rowland, snapping her out of her own mental deliberations, and finally quieting Rowland. "I believe that is Vigil's Keep in front of us." He pointed to a tower that extended above the trees on either side of the road. "Where is the escort to greet us? There have been no patrols on the road… The human, Rowland, said they were expecting us. Something is wrong."

Endrin's hunter instincts began to take hold, and she reached out with her Warden sense, it didn't take long before she began to sense her old enemies. Beside her, Rowland unsheathed his sword and adjusted his shield on his arm just as she took Falon'Din's Reach off her back and notched an arrow, behind her Sten took up Asala.

"Darkspawn are here…" Endrin confirmed Sten's suspicion, "And they're in our fort!"

"But how?" Rowland questioned.

"Let's go find out." Endrin growled as she quickened her pace, moving off the road and into the woods to the side of it. Rowland and Sten following her lead.

They hadn't gone far before a screaming soldier ran down the road, pursued by the stunted forms of three genlocks. Without another word Endrin swung her bow towards the darkspawn and unleashed her first arrow, without even waiting to see where she'd hit it she drew another arrow, aimed, and fired, then again with a third. It had taken less than five seconds for her to fire three arrows and kill three genlocks. As she and her two companions came back onto the road the soldier began beating an already dead darkspawn with his mace. Endrin waited until he'd stopped, and like Dharr had done before, she moved to the other two corpses and kicked each of them, making sure they were in fact dead.

"You're here!" The out of breath soldier gasped. "Thank the… Maker…" He took several more gasps before he saying, "You have to… help them! Darkspawn are… everywhere!

"Is anyone else in there still alive?!" Endrin demanded.

"I think so." The exhausted soldier nodded, "I know that… Commander Tylis was still… alive, he won't… won't leave the others!"

Endrin smiled grimly. That sounded like Tylis. "And what are you doing?"

That question caught the soldier off-guard. "I… I was going to get help… There's bound to be a patrol or something on the road."

Endrin nodded, "Then go." She said, and without waiting for him or her two followers to say anything else she started moving towards the Vigil again. '_I just got back… I'm not losing Tylis and Roaran like this!_'

Ahead of her she saw a towering ogre charging towards her, a wooden beam of some sort clenched in its massive hands. Endrin pulled the arrow that was already notched to her cheek and fired into its face, she'd aimed for its eye but the arrow hit the towering monster just below the intended mark. Still it staggered backwards, roaring in pain.

"Sten go to the right!" Endrin ordered, "I'll draw its attention and move left. Rowland, watch my back, I can sense more darkspawn coming!" As soon as she was done giving orders Endrin started circling the ogre to the left, Sten to the right. The ogre started to follow Sten, but stopped and moved after Endrin when she put another arrow in its face, it swung at her with the beam and Endrin leapt five feet straight into the air, tucking her knees against her chest as the crude weapon passed under her, she fired again as soon as she landed, and this time her missile found the monster's eye.

Sten spun around in a full circle as he approached the ogre, building his momentum before hacking into the back of a knee with Asala, and the darkspawn howled in answer and fell to its now injured knee. Sten didn't waste a moment and he moved back a few steps, then charged forward again, ramming Asala up through it's back and towards it heart, black blood gushed out of the wound, down the blade and onto his hands. Sten savagely ripped the greatsword out, and as the ogre fell closer to the ground he swung into its neck, his second strike severed it's spine.

Rowland was facing two hurlocks and a shriek, he was hard pressed and had no choice but to fight defensively. He blocked the clawed swipe of the shriek on his shield and jumped to the left, keeping the shriek between him and at least one of the hurlocks so that he didn't have to face all of them at once. As the shriek swung at him again he shifted his body so that the claws hit his heavily armored shoulder, then bashed his heavy square shield into its face, slashing it across the throat before it could recover. Rowland braced himself behind his shield as one of the hurlocks charged him. The darkspawn used its superior size and weight to throw him off balance as it crashed into the shield. Rowland was barely able to block its sword before it connected with his face, but the hurlock kicked him in the ribs, and he felt it even through his armor. He ignored the pain and blocked the next strike as well. The second hurlock circled around and came in from the other side, Rowland rolled towards it to avoid having his throat decimated by an axe and rolled as hard as he could into its legs, when it stumbled he drove his own sword up through its chest. The last surviving hurlock stood over him and raised its sword, but stopped and made a strangling noise, black blood pouring from its mouth. Rowland looked closer and saw a triangular arrowhead dripping with black gore protruding from its throat. Behind the hurlock, Endrin shot it a second time, this time in the back of its skull to ensure it was dead.

"Are you alright?" Endrin called from where she stood, just as the hurlock fell forward on top of him.

Rowland grunted as he pushed the dead darkspawn off of him. "I'm still alive!" He answered as he pushed himself to his feet.

Endrin only nodded as she notched another arrow and continued towards the castle itself, Sten already at her side again "Come-on then! I'm not letting the darkspawn kill my friends!" And just like that, a certain coldness returned to Endrin, like when she'd flared at him on the road for calling Tylis a boy.

* * *

Roaran was happy he hadn't bothered to take off the silverite scale armor after having arrived at the Vigil. During his quest to stop the blight, that same suit of armor had saved his life several times over, and now it was saving his life again. He'd left his cozy home in Amaranthine to make the several hour long trip back to the keep just to welcome Endrin back to the family as it were, he'd only been inside the walls of the castle for a few minutes when he'd heard Mage-Boy several rooms away shouting about darkspawn. At first Roaran had thought that Tylis had lost his mind, but then his own Warden sense kicked in, and he'd almost immediately been attacked by two hurlocks… by his count that was fifteen darkspawn ago.

A short distance away from the fiery haired dwarven Warden, Kensha yelled a spell and thrust her staff towards a darkspawn, trapping it in a spell of telekinesis. The genlock hurtled backwards with bone crushing force and crashed into a wall. Kensha could tell from the pained howl that the genlock was still alive, and she angled her staff up, then down, the genlock responded by crashing into the roof and then floor where it lay unmoving.

As Kensha was still in the middle of telekinetically bashing the genlock to death, Roaran saw a hurlock coming towards her back with axe raised. It was too far away and moving too fast for Roaran to get to it in time to save Kensha, so instead he brought his battleaxe, Faith's Edge, behind his head and threw it with all his power, the dragonbone weapon spun through the air and then embedded itself in the head of the hurlock with such force that its head practically disintegrated into a splatter of bone and gore. Kensha looked at the dead hurlock in surprise, then back at Roaran, the dwarf saw her eyes bulge open in fear and she held an open hand in Roaran's direction. Behind him Roaran heard a terrified scream then a wet sounding explosion and he was suddenly showered with another layer of black blood, pieces of bone, and even chucks of entrails. When he looked back at the source of the explosion all he saw were a pair of dismembered darkspawn legs.

It only took Roaran a second to shake off his surprise and for his old nature to return. "Y'know I was just gonna say that you owed me a pint. But now it looks like we both owe each other one."

Kensha looked around at the carnage they'd wrought together. There were more than thirty darkspawn corpses that littered the floor, and one that was impaled on a wall, pinned there by a spear she'd magically thrown. But there were casualties on their side as well. At the start of the fight it had been herself and Roaran, two Orlesian Wardens, and five of the Vigil's soldiers, only herself and Roaran had survived. As she looked around the room turned slaughterhouse however she only counted five dead humans.

Ignoring Roaran's attempt at humor, Kensha asked, "Where are the Orlesians?"

"Dead." Roaran stated obviously.

"I know…" She rolled her eyes. "I meant where are their bodies. Either they got better and walked away or the darkspawn dragged them off while we were busy dealing with the ambush."

Roaran shrugged. "Maybe they did get better."

Kensha stared at Roaran in surprise. "How can you make jokes at a time like this?" She asked.

Another shrug, Roaran gave his trademark grin but didn't answer otherwise. "I miss Kylae…" He muttered under his breath. '_She would have found that funny._' Then he touched his forehead with two fingers. "Company coming." He said loud enough to be heard.

Kensha's shoulders sagged and her entire body seemed to deflate. "More darkspawn?" She whined. "I only had one lyrium potion on me to start with… and I already used it. I don't have much left in me!" She didn't want to say how she could always rely on blood magic, using either her own blood or someone else's.

As the source of tingling sensation drew closer, Roaran lost the grim expression and broke into a relieved smile. "It ain't darkspawn!" He said happily.

Only another moment passed before Endrin, Sten, and Rowland entered the room.

"Tattoo!" Roaran shouted, "Good to see you again! It hasn't been the same without you in the lead! Any chance you brought Big Man and Elf-Lady with you? We could have the whole troop back together!" Before Endrin could even answer Roaran was already talking again. "And you even managed to bring along the Sten, and Rollo… this day just keeps getting better!"

Endrin hadn't realized how much she'd missed Roaran and his odd sense of humor until she saw him again. Before she could take in the full measure of the situation she was laughing. "Roaran…" She had to stop and laugh again. "Roaran, where's Tylis?"

"What? No small talk? Come-on Tattoo… you haven't seen me for six months! How about a—"

"Roaran!" Endrin yelled, and she had to do her best not to start laughing again.

"Alright, fine… fine." Roaran relented. "I haven't seen Mage-Boy yet. I just got here a few minutes before the attack started, that's when me and Kensha found each other and we've been fighting ever since. We got our first breather just a few seconds ago."

Endrin noted that Roaran hadn't used a nickname for the blood mage, meaning either that he didn't like her or he just hadn't thought of a suitable name yet. Before she could say ask anything else, Rowland was talking.

"Oh great…" He said, glaring hatefully at Kensha, "_You_ would have survive wouldn't you?"

"Go jump in the river Rowland!" Kensha spat.

"Enough!" Endrin shouted before Roaran could crack another joke or the recruits could insult each other again. "We need to find Tylis and any other survivors that we can! And we're going to do it together!" She pointed towards a door on the opposite side of the room. "Roaran, Sten, you two take the lead. Kensha, Rowland, take the rear. I'll stay in the middle and keep us covered with my bow. Now let's go!"

Roaran grinned as he took the lead, Sten soon coming up alongside him. '_Just like the old days!_' He thought to himself. '_Outnumbered by darkspawn and the chances are against us! Endrin is even in the lead again! This is fun!_' He pushed his way past Sten and through the door first and quickly realized that they had just entered a long hallway, he relaxed a bit, knowing that any darkspawn would have to come from directly in front of him.

The tingling, prickling sensation in Roaran and Endrin's foreheads soon started again and they both stopped, crouching lower and readying their weapons, the other three followed their example. A few seconds passed before two genlocks and a hurlock ran across the hallway with weapons drawn, apparently there was an intersecting hallway. It wasn't long after that before a human sounding voice shout a warning and there was an explosion.

"I can feel magic and spells being cast!" Kensha announced.

"That must be where Tylis is!" Endrin said quickly. "Go!"

Roaran and Sten led the way, following the darkspawn as fast as they could. Sten with his longer legs and stride rounded the corner and found the darkspawn first, or rather what was left of the darkspawn.

There was indeed a blonde mage in the room, but it wasn't Tylis. This mage was a little taller than Tylis, and with several days of beard growth. As Sten and Roaran entered the room they saw him with both hands outstretched, a stream of white hot fire pouring from his fingertips, quickly reducing the last hurlock to an ash covered skeleton.

As the badly charred hurlock dropped to a smoking heap on the floor, the mage started shaking his hands as if to cool them off, then looked up, seeing the newcomers for the first time. The mage glanced around at the darkspawn corpses before looking back up at the group and shrugging his shoulders. "_Uhh…_" He said as if unsure what to say, he managed to find his words a few seconds later. "I didn't do it."

Roaran relaxed his grip on Faith's Edge and walked deeper into the room chuckling as he kicked or hacked at the darkspawn to ensure they were really dead. "You didn't kill all these darkspawn?" He asked.

The mage smirked as he looked around at the numerous corpses. "Oh no, not them, I killed them… most of them at least. He helped." Anders motioned with his head towards the body of a dead templar, fully armored, still clenching his longsword. "Imagine… a mage and templar working together for once! But what I meant to say was that I didn't kill _him_."

Rowland scowled at the new mage as he moved over to the dead templar and quickly analyzed him. "Liar!" He said turning back towards the mage with sword pointed at him. "There's not a mark on him! He only could have been killed with magic!"

"Look on his back!" The mage insisted. "The poor bastard was standing close to the door and was yelling at me for something or another when those last three darkspawn came running in! One of them stabbed him in the back! I promise I'm not a murderer… apostate yes, but murderer no!"

Rowland rolled the dead templar over to see that his back was indeed stained in blood. He couldn't see a wound due to the heavy plate armor, and looking back at his companions he shrugged.

"Look," The mage said, "There are darkspawn to be killed, and I'm in a position to help you. I'm more of a healer, but as you can see, I can put up a good fight when I need to. So how about you let me come along, and then we talk about what happens later… later?"

Endrin pushed her way past Roaran and Sten, she tilted her head as she studied the mage, then arched an eyebrow. "I knew a templar once…" She said, and for a moment or two it was all she could do to hold back a tide of tears, but then she regained control of herself and continued, "I take it that you're an apostate and the templar was bringing you to the Circle?"

The blonde mage nodded in agreement, but at the same time couldn't keep himself from grinning. "Very nice tattoo!" He said off-handedly. "I take it that you're Endrin, the Grey Warden who killed the Archdemon?"

Endrin arched a single eyebrow and flashed her mischievous smile. "That's what they tell me."

"In that case you can call me Anders." The mage replied. "So do we have an understanding?"

Endrin nodded. "We do."

Anders nodded. "Pretty _and_ sensible… such a rare combination."

Endrin's smile disappeared. "Let's go." She said blankly, and motioned for Roaran and Sten to take the lead again. This mage, Anders, already reminded her more than a little of Alistair… and that wasn't altogether a good thing.

* * *

Sten kicked the door to the roof open and Roaran was the first one out, followed closely by Sten and the others. Instead of finding darkspawn waiting for them however they found Tylis, Mhairi, and the second templar. At seeing her fellow Warden and friend it was all Endrin could do to keep from shouting his name and hugging him, and from the look of excitement and relief on his face, Tylis felt the same way.

"Endrin." Tylis said, being sure to keep his voice quiet. "I am so happy to see you here!" He glanced at the giant behind her. "You too Sten, and you even managed to find the Duster. It's almost like the good old days!"

Endrin swallowed hard, 'the good old days' could hardly be considered good. "It's good to see you too." Endrin managed to say. "What's going on here?"

"You got me, Endrin." Tylis shrugged. "The darkspawn just appeared out of nowhere and attacked. The three of us have been tracking one that I believe is their leader. I'm just hoping that our old strategy works again… you know, kill the leader and plunge the rest into chaos?"

"Sounds good to me." Endrin nodded.

Tylis waited for Endrin to take charge and start giving orders, but instead she only looked at him expectantly. It took a moment for Tylis to remember that he was the one in charge and he smiled in an embarrassed sort of way before saying, "Templar, what's your name?"

"Alsace… at your service Ser."

Tylis nodded, "Thank you Alsace, I want you and Sten to go first, you two are the largest and have the heaviest armor. Anders, stay behind and defend them with your spells as best you can, if you see an opening in the darkspawn's own defenses then take it. Endrin, stay with him, do what you do best. Roaran, Rowland, Kensha, stay back and watch out rear at least until we find the darkspawn leader. Mhairi, you're with me. Everyone ready… let's do this!"

After turning the first corner, the group was confronted by a cluster of genlocks and hurlocks. The templar, unused to fighting or even looking at darkspawn held back in fear. Sten on the other hand did not hesitate in the least and flung himself into them, knocking two of them over in his initial charge, then moving back and forth with the fluidity of a dance and lethality of steel whirlwind. He grabbed a genlock by the throat, lifting off the ground with one hand, parrying a hurlock's longsword at the same time, then throwing the genlock into the larger spawn. A second hurlock came at him, clumsily swinging and Sten easily ducked under it, sweeping out and around with one of his legs as he did so, knocking the darkspawn to the ground.

By that time the templar had returned to his senses and charged in, Roaran at his side. The templar, Alsace, lunged forward, driving his longsword through the chest of genlock while at the same time Sten raised his sword and dropped it through the first hurlock and the genlock that he'd thrown at it, killing them both.

Roaran used the flat top of the axe like a battering ram and pushed a genlock off balance, then he spun around, bringing Faith's Edge in a wide arc and cutting cleanly through its neck.

The last hurlock tried to retreat away from them but was too slow, and Sten roared as he stabbed Asala through its chest with such brutal force that he lifted it off the ground and over the edge of the wall, then he jerked his sword free, letting the darkspawn fall, screeching, to its death far below.

Endrin smiled grimly from where she stood. The battle had happened so fast that she hadn't fired a single arrow.

With Sten once more in the lead, the group of Wardens and soldiers continued to fight their way across the rooftop of Vigil's Keep, following the darkspawn they sensed to be the leader. As they turned the last corner they all stopped in surprise at what they saw, or rather what they heard. There were roughly a dozen hurlocks, led by one wearing a chainmail coif around its head and a violet cloak over its shoulders, its body was covered in armor that was plainly of better quality than darkspawn were normally afforded. What was unnerving about the lead darkspawn was that it was talking to several captured humans who had been forced to their knees. Tylis only recognized two of them, an older man, Seneschal Varel, and Sergeant Maverlies.

"No good!" The darkspawn was saying, although it was unclear who it was talking to. "No good! No Grey… only more worthless humans! But what is this… this feeling? Can sense more… He needs more!" It spoke in a husky voice, and as if the words of the common language were unfamiliar to it, which they probably were.

The three Grey Wardens and Sten had all heard darkspawn speak before. Some of the emissaries they'd fought and killed had possessed powers of speech, but this darkspawn seemed capable of so much more. It seemed to be debating and reasoning with itself, or with the other darkspawn, it was impossible to tell.

"Kill them." It hissed. "They are no good to him! Kill them all!"

Without a word, Endrin quickly aimed and released her arrow, and the missile found its mark between the lead darkspawn's shoulders, as its back had been turned to them. How far the arrow penetrated the armor couldn't be told.

The darkspawn made a pained grunting sound and whirled to face the offender, drawing a long, drastically curved sword as it did so. A heavy shield with jagged pieces of metal protruding all along its sides already on its arm. "More of the Grey!" It said excitedly as another hurlock pulled the arrow from its back. "Kill the prisoners quickly! Then be killing the Grey, much use they will serve!"

"No!" Tylis screamed as he saw darkspawn swords fall into the bodies of the soldiers who'd been placed under his command. They were his responsibility, and now they'd been killed like dogs in the very keep where he was commander, where they should have been safe. Most of the captives were killed with the first strike. Varel however was able to twist his body so that the blow that was meant for his head cut into his shoulder, and Maverlies dove forward, landing hard on her front as her hands were tied, but she still managed to roll out of the way.

Bringing Revas back over his shoulder, Tylis threw it like it was a spear into the chest of nearest hurlock, then reaching out with his magic he took hold of the lyrium that was imbued into the weapon and pulled it back into his hand. Two more hurlocks ran towards him, putting themselves between Tylis and the strange, talking darkspawn. "Heads up!" Tylis said, conjuring a spell in his head with no need to vocalize the spell. A conjured slab of stone appeared over both the hurlocks instantly falling and crushing their bodies to pulp, then vanishing into thin air. Tylis glared at the darkspawn leader. "You're mine now!" He shouted.

The talking hurlock came running towards Tylis, jumping into the air as it neared and bring its sword down, Tylis blocked it on the blade of Revas, and although he was forced to his knees he still brought of the butt of the weapon around to it the surprised darkspawn in the face, then he stabbed at its chest with the blade again. The darkspawn brought its shield around and blocked the blade, then lunged toward pushing Tylis backwards.

Rather than fight against the superior strength of the darkspawn, Tylis went with it and jumped backwards, a plan already forming in his head. The darkspawn fell for it and came towards Tylis again, shield to one side and sword back, ready to strike. Tylis slid his grip further down the shaft of Revas so he was holding near the bottom, the he used the superior range of the weapon and swung it around at his enemy. His plan worked, the pointed, razor sharp tip of Revas hit the darkspawn over the throat, but the chainmail coif protected its life… if only for a few more seconds.

The talking hurlock stumbled backwards, doubling over and choking. Tylis took full advantage of situation and brought Revas back again, stabbing forward into its stomach, the blade easily punching through the darkspawn's armor and into tainted flesh underneath. "Ignis!" Tylis yelled, and primal magic flowed through him and his weapon, setting the darkspawn's body aflame. It howled one last time as it died, then crumpled to a heap at Tylis' feet.

The young mage and commander looked around the rooftop, just as Mhairi killed the last darkspawn. He was somewhat relieved to see that both Varel and Maverlies had both survived. Varel was in dire need of a healer, and Anders was already seeing to him, Maverlies looked a little banged up, but none the worse for it. Tylis was also happy to see that everyone who'd fought with him was still alive as well, even the templar Alsace. But it was the bodies of the dead soldiers both on top of the roof and inside the fort that weighed heavily on his heart.

All the voices and other sounds around Tylis seemed to grow quieter and blend together in a dull blur of noise. As he turned around he could see Roaran, already cleaning the gore of his battleaxe and laughing about something, but he could not understand the words. Endrin was moving around the darkspawn corpses, retrieving her arrows. She looked over at Tylis and her face seemed to echo the same sadness that he felt. The others all showed a wide range of emotions, some seemed happy, others relieved, Mhairi in particular just looked angry.

Endrin pulled the last arrow from a darkspawn corpse, then broke off the arrowhead and tossed the rest away, the shaft had been fractured on impact, making it useless. Overhead she heard an avian screech, and turned her eyes skyward to see a hawk circling the keep. The hawk screeched again and flew off, above the road that Endrin had arrived on. Endrin moved to the edge of the roof, her sharp elven eyes looking out over the road. "Someone's coming." She announced, pointing to a cloud of dust that rose from the road, barely visible in the distance. "And I don't think that it's more darkspawn unless they've learned how to ride horses." She allowed herself a small smile, feeling that she knew who it was.

* * *

_Let me just say something about Anders… In DA2 he was hands down my least favorite character and every time I played it I would practically be giggling to myself when I killed him. In Awakening however he's one of my favorites, I really like his humor and snarky come-backs, so I'll do my best to stay true the Anders that I know and love._

_Thanks again for reading. Hopefully I'll have next chapter up in a week or so._


	3. Replenish the Ranks

Roaran bounded down the steps of the keep almost gleefully as he followed Tylis. If his guess was right, the travelers that Tattoo had spotted on the road were led by Eebon and Kylae, or more correctly, Big Man and Elf Lady. Of all the people in his life that he'd been separated from, he missed Elf Lady the most, perhaps even more than Rica, and she'd been the first of his companions that Roaran had come to know as 'friend'. Part of him wished that Kylae had chosen not to accept Eebon's marriage proposal, then the two of them could have remained partners, both in battle and in crime!

The first one to enter through the ruined gate however was a dog, grey furred and brown backed, with the feral yellow eyes of wolf, but the shorter face and heavier body that marked a mabari war hound. If Roaran remembered correctly, the dog's name was Ronin, and was a gift to Eebon from Endrin to replace his hound that had died defending Queen Anora from assassins. Ronin came to halt inside the gate and looked around wildly, lips pulled back revealing sharp teeth, every hair stood on end. At seeing that there were no enemies to be found the wolf-dog relaxed, and although it was only half-grown and only half wolf, it lifted its head to the moon and gave a full-throated, very wolf-like howl. Once its vocalization had been completed, Ronin happily trotted to where the three Wardens stood and proceeded to give each of them a good sniffing, then so on with the other people.

Ronin was still moving around the group of humans, lone elf and dwarf, when the thunder of hooves announced the arrival of Eebon Cousland and Kylae Tabris. The former again wearing the fabled Blood Dragon Armor, the legendary dragon-slaying sword Yusaris across his back, and riding a silver war-horse. The latter wearing her now famous ironbark armor, two Dalish style daggers at her waist along with an assortment of throwing knives. Kylae rode a much smaller pony, and from the look on her face was on the verge of being sick from the motion of riding.

At seeing Roaran however, Kylae's look of discomfort vanished, and as soon as her mount had come to a stop she slid from the saddle and ran towards him. Despite the fact that she was noticeably taller than Roaran, the dwarf was considerably heavier and stronger, and he had no trouble catching her by the waist as she jumped towards him, holding her lithe frame above his head for a few moments before spinning her around once and setting her down with only a slight grunt of exertion. As soon as her leather boots touched ground, Kylae dropped to her knees, putting herself and Roaran at eye level and they embraced, laughing happily at being reunited again.

Eebon on the other hand showed no humor or amusement as he dismounted from his charger, pulling off his dragonbone gauntlets and walking towards Tylis. His steel-blue eyes moving around the courtyard at the dead bodies of both Amaranthine soldiers and darkspawn alike. He did allow a small smile to come across his otherwise grim features as he clasped forearms with Tylis and the two Wardens pulled the other closer and clapped him on the back.

"It's good to see you again, Tylis." Eebon said in his deep voice. "And it's better to see that you survived whatever happened here."

"You as well Eebon." Tylis answered, both Wardens forgoing the formalities of ranks and titles. "The darkspawn attacked out of nowhere. We've fought them off it seems, but with heavy losses. From what I can tell none of the Orlesian Wardens survived the attack, and precious few soldiers made it."

Eebon looked past the mage at Endrin, and Endrin saw the relief that washed over him at seeing her unhurt, then he looked at Roaran, who was already laughing and telling stories back and forth with Kylae. "At least the heroes have survived." He said quietly, then he looked around and called out loud enough for everyone to hear, "With the reinforcements that came with me, we have enough manpower to do a proper sweep of the Vigil. Everyone still able to walk and carry a weapon divide up into two groups, one to search the castle grounds and surrounding area, and one to search the interior of the castle itself."

* * *

The purge of Vigil's Keep took the remainder of the night. While most of the darkspawn had either been killed or retreated when the talking darkspawn was put down, a few still lingered. Most of the darkspawn who remained were in the winding cellars and dungeons that ran below the castle, and that was also how the Wardens discovered the means by which the darkspawn had approached undetected. Apparently the darkspawn had tunneled up through the ground, connecting their tunnel to the lowest reaches of the Vigil's cellars. With the help of some primal magic, Tylis was able to collapse the tunnel, providing at the very least a temporary solution, although they all knew that a few tons of rock would not stop the darkspawn if they really wanted to return.

Anders sighed in a tired but content sounding way and stretched as he and the others began to come back into the courtyard. "I have to say, that was rather refreshing." He said happily. "I've never seen so many people so happy to see me casting spells." He looked at Alsace, "I dare say even you have to admit that we mages are helpful when you leave us alone long enough to actually do something."

The templar shook his head, although since his helmet was still on it was impossible to tell whether he was amused or annoyed. "Be that as it may, it's time for us to leave. Somehow I don't feel comfortable staying here any longer."

"You can't be serious!" Anders complained, "We just finished a battle with the darkspawn! And we were travelling all day before that… I'm tired, I'm sure you're tired! And I never even got the hot meal that was promised, can't you just—"

"That's enough, Anders." Alsace interrupted. "You've stalled long enough. And now that it's only me to guard you, I'm willing to bet next month's salary that you make your eighth escape attempt."

"Well could you blame me?" Anders looked to Tylis. The two of them had never been friends, although they'd never disliked the other. During their time in Circle together Anders had been a troublemaker and escape artist, while Tylis had been the hardworking, studious type. More than a few people had called Tylis names like 'alter-boy' and 'teacher's pet'. But now, Anders was hoping his old acquaintance could maybe help him out. "Tylis… Commander Tylis, come-on, throw me a bone here! There must be something you can do."

Tylis looked from Alsace to Anders. For most of his life Tylis had been perfectly content with his life at Kinloch Hold, but then he'd been forced to run away and had subsequently joined the Grey Wardens. Since then he'd fallen in love with the outside world and what it held, the dozens of books he'd read while at the tower just didn't do it justice. And while Anders wasn't exactly a friend, he knew that Anders had a good heart and as he'd just witnessed, Anders was a powerful mage and an excellent healer… and the Wardens were short on healers. His own skill in that area had improved from constant use during the blight but was still lacking, and Kensha's healing abilities were non-existent. '_Figures with her being a blood mage and all._' He thought to himself.

On the other hand however, Tylis couldn't bully the templar into handing over Anders. The Grey Wardens and chantry were completely independent of each other, although Tylis did wonder if the treaty compelling aid from the Circle of Magi could be used to draft recruits. That was when he saw Eebon staring at him and shaking his head in a disappointed kind of way. Tylis wondered what he was forgetting… then he remembered, and felt like a total idiot for having forgotten in the first place.

Looking at the templar in what he hoped was an authoritative way, Tylis said, "As High Warden, I invoke the Right of Conscription, drafting Anders into our service!"

The look of shock that came over Anders face was so comical that Tylis could barely keep himself from laughing, and he imagined that a similar look was on the templar's face as well.

"You can do that?" Anders asked.

"I can and I did." Tylis confirmed.

Alsace's shoulders drooped, and he hung his head in defeat. "I will not argue with a Grey Warden in this matter. And certainly not when the Warden is a Hero of Ferelden. I will report what happened here to the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter, and I will see to it that the chantry sends someone to retrieve the body of my fellow knight for cremation."

Tylis nodded and said, "Give them my regards as well."

No sooner had the templar turned to leave then Eebon called out loudly, "Grey Wardens, come with me to the throne room, recruits as well. Everyone else must remain here. What happens now is for us alone."

Tylis swallowed hard, he could already see that Eebon was holding the ivory Joining Chalice. He also knew that Eebon would need his help in preparing the vile mixture that would determine who lived to become a Warden and who died a horrid death. The concoction called for lyrium, and certain spellwork that only a mage could provide. Fortunately the Orlesian Wardens had showed him how to do it as soon as he'd arrived at the Vigil.

* * *

Not even an hour passed before Tylis and Eebon stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the wooden throne, Ronin sat at Eebon's heel, doing his best to look dignified. The recruits stood in a half-circle in front of them, all of them with nervous looks on their faces and fidgeting uncomfortably. There were thirteen recruits in total, Anders and the other three recruits who would remain at Vigil's Keep, three humans and one City Elf who'd come from Soldier's Peak, and five dwarves hailing from Orzammar. They'd all been tested in one way or another. Mhairi, Rowland, and Kensha all having fought in the Battle of Denerim, and the recent ambush. Eebon's recruits having accompanied either him or Kylae on darkspawn hunts across northern Ferelden. And the dwarven recruits all Deep Roads veterans. All thirteen of them sensed something dark was in their immediate future, and being put on the spot in such a way did nothing to ease the tension. Behind the recruits stood Endrin, Roaran, Kylae, and Sten. No one had objected when Sten faithfully followed Endrin. He'd already traveled with her and her friends for more than a year, and Sten knew as much about being a Warden as the actual Wardens did.

The throne room itself had been empty during the darkspawn attack, so there were thankfully no corpses to litter the room, although the darkspawn had broken some of the furniture and other things around the spacious room.

Tylis looked down into the disgusting mixture of darkspawn blood, Archdemon blood, and lyrium that he held in his hands. It wasn't hard for him to remember his own Joining as the memory had been seared into his mind like a hot brand. Next to him, Eebon stepped towards the recruits to give a short speech, like Duncan had done at the previous Joining.

"More than a thousand years ago, during the first blight, a number of soldiers from the Anderfels swore that they would dedicate their lives to defeating the blight, and the evil that came with it. No longer would they serve the selfish whims of their former lords, no longer would they become involved in the petty power struggles fought by the Tevinter Magisters of the time. They swore their very lives to the good of all races. It was these few soldiers who became the first Grey Wardens, taking in the blood of the darkspawn, absorbing their taint, their very essence and using it against them… Just like every Grey Warden has since then, like we have before you, and like every Warden to come after you.

"Since the beginning of time, it has always fallen to a few to stand against the hordes of evil for the good of the many. We are that few, we are the Grey Wardens." He stopped and looked at each of the recruits as he asked, "Who will be the first to join our ranks?"

Without looking at her fellow recruits, Mhairi stepped forward. "I have waited my entire life for this moment!" She said proudly, although the fear that lingered in her voice was unmistakable.

Eebon nodded at her, then looked back to Tylis and nodded again.

Tylis stepped forward, reciting the verse that Eebon and Alistair had quoted at his Joining. "Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice shall not be forgotten. And that one day, we shall join you." He allowed for a few moments of revered silence before handing the chalice to Mhairi.

Mhairi only hesitated for moment before she brought the cup to her lips and tipped her head back, handing it back to Tylis as she swallowed. For a few seconds nothing happened, and then pain racked her body and Mhairi doubled over, both hands flying to her face as she screamed in pain. Tylis and Eebon both grimaced as her body straightened again, her eyes had rolled back in her head so that only white was visible, her mouth open in a silent scream. Then her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.

All of the recruits took a step back from Mhairi, their fear rising as they saw what really happened during the Joining. Anders was the only one of them to speak however, "Is she dead?"

Tylis knelt by Mhairi's side and held an open hand above her mouth and nose, relief washed over his face when he felt her breath. "No." He answered. "She lives… and now she truly is a Grey Warden." He stood up again, and could barely bring himself to say the words, "Who will be next?"

Rowland looked around and hesitated for a few moments before answering, "I will."

"Maker be with you." Tylis said, offering the chalice to him.

No sooner had Rowland drank and returned the chalice to Tylis than he fell to his hands and knees. There was only one short scream of excruciating pain, and then his body heaved and Rowland puked up a veritable stream of blood. "No!" He choked out the single words before his body collapsed.

Tylis checked him for any sign of life as well, although it hardly felt necessary, and Tylis wondered if death had been a mercy as he confirmed that Rowland had died. He only shook his head sadly at Eebon, words weren't needed.

Anders was the next to step forward. He tried to find his old humor as he asked, "What did you get me into here, Tylis?" He took the cup with one hand, plugging his nose with the other as he drank. Like Mhairi, Anders body contorted into several different positions and his eyes rolled back before he passed out, still very much alive.

Tylis looked to Kensha, and his fellow mage stepped forward as well. She didn't look scared like the others. Kensha had resigned herself to whatever fate awaited her. "I've made so many mistakes…" She said before drinking. "I know that no matter what I do, I won't be safe for the rest of my life… but maybe this will erase some of bad decisions." Then she tilted her head back and drank. As with the others, nothing happened for a few seconds, then she closed her eyes tightly and staggered backwards, groaning as she fell to her knees, one hand to her forehead, the other hand braced against the floor. She looked up at Tylis, her eyes pleading for the pain to stop, and then they rolled back in her head and fully collapsed. From where he stood, Tylis could easily see that she was still breathing.

"She lives." He announced.

Tylis looked down at the three unconscious Wardens and one dead one. Technically they were all Eebon's recruits as he was the Warden Commander, but these four were his responsibility, and Anders had been recruited specifically by Tylis. '_Another death in the name of the Grey Wardens… But three more survive. I just hope what we do is worth it._' He looked back at Eebon, and the big berserker nodded for him to continue. Tylis moved on to the next recruit, a man wearing a suit of half-plate armor, he had the look of a career soldier. Tylis handed him the chalice.

* * *

Back in the courtyard, and away from the sight of so many dead bodies and the smell of battle, Tylis dropped himself to the ground. His back resting against the castle wall. He thought that he'd wanted to be away from the others and collect his thoughts. The last twenty-four hours had been stressful to say the least. First had come the tasks of being the second highest ranking Warden within the kingdom, as well as the Arl of Amaranthine… and all the 'delightful' tasks that came with those titles. Then the darkspawn attack had happened, once more throwing his world into chaos. And finally there had been the Joining, and he'd been forced to watch four people die, and condemn nine others to the short life of a Grey Warden.

He wondered if they had known all the sacrifices involved if they would still have volunteered. Over the last few days, Tylis had thought that maybe Mhairi, Rowland, and Kensha had figured out some of the Wardens 'secrets' one way or another. For the last six months they had certainly been around the Wardens long enough to pick up on a couple things, but if they truly did know they didn't say anything about it. And now Rowland was dead, one of the humans who'd come with Eebon, as well as the elf, and one of the dwarves had died. The four remaining dwarves had started the long march back to Orzammar almost as soon as they were all awake again, declining any offer of rest or food. They were hardened warriors to be certain, and Tylis wondered briefly what it would be like to be dwarven warrior, then he stopped. The lives of said dwarven warriors were so different from his own that he could not even begin to comprehend it.

"Aneth ara."

Tylis blinked, emerging from his deep thoughts and looking up at Endrin. "Aneth ara." He returned, and for a moment he couldn't remember the meaning of the words, he'd simply repeated them. During his year long quest with Endrin, he'd become familiar with some of the more basic Elvish words and phrases, but in the time away from her they'd slipped into the recesses of his mind.

"What were you thinking about?" Endrin asked as she slid down the wall and sat next to him.

"The Grey Wardens…" Tylis answered. "Duty, sacrifice, death. You know… fun stuff like that."

Endrin snorted. "Would you rather I leave you be?"

Tylis thought about it for a few moments. "No." He said. "I've never minded having you around." And that was the truth. While at first Tylis had wanted to be left alone, Endrin had always been easy to talk to, and even easier to like. And although Tylis was no expert on the Dalish, or any elves for that matter, he thought that Endrin was nothing like a typical Dalish. '_She's too… friendly… would that be the right word? Too open?_'

Endrin smiled briefly, then stared blankly off into nothingness. "It's hard isn't it?" She asked after a few moments.

"_Huh?_" Tylis grunted, "What's hard?"

Endrin laughed quietly and humorlessly. "Watching people become Grey Wardens… Knowing that it will eventually kill them one day, even if the darkspawn don't?"

"Yes." Tylis answered. "Actually that's what I was just thinking about. Do you think they'd still agree to it if they knew everything that came with being a Warden?"

"Some of them probably." Endrin muttered. "Others almost certainly not… But… they all had a choice."

"Except Anders."

"He didn't complain when you drafted him." Endrin stopped and glanced up when she heard a scratching sound coming for the top of the wall above her, but it was only a hawk, the same hawk she'd seen that heralded the arrival of Eebon and the others that came with him. Endrin looked back to Tylis and continued, "I never had a choice. I was practically shoved out my clan by Keeper Marethari, despite my protests and forced into the Grey Wardens." She sighed sadly. "But I suppose I can't complain too much, I would have been dead a long time ago if it hadn't happened… And it's not like you really had a choice either."

"No." Tylis agreed. "My choices were to be condemned either to death or Aeonar, life as an apostate and probably being branded as a maleficar, and you can ask Anders how that works out, or join the Wardens." He shrugged. "I don't really think much about it though, and I don't regret it for an instant."

Endrin arched an eyebrow at her friend, and Tylis grinned at seeing the familiar expression. "Really?" She asked, "Not for one instant?"

"No." Tylis said again. "I choose to think of the good life I've had, the life that still ahead of me, and all the good I've done, and that I can still do."

"That's why I like you, Tylis." Endrin smiled again, "You're always the optimistic one."

Tylis grinned in response to the compliment. "Why look at the bad when there's a good side to everything? So what about you? Do you ever regret becoming a Warden?"

Endrin swallowed hard and had to blink the tears away. She didn't give a direct answer, instead only saying, "The darkspawn and Grey Wardens took everything from me, Tylis… Everything!" Endrin stopped hand put a hand over her mouth, Tylis suspected it was to keep her lips from quivering. It took a few more seconds Endrin to continue. "But at the same time, the Grey Wardens have given me everything. I've said it before how you and the others are my clan now. I came back from the New Dales not because Eebon allowed us six months, and not because of my duty as a Warden, I don't care about either of those things."

Tylis felt touched to know how much Endrin cared about him.

"I came back to be with my clan." Endrin continued, then she stopped and her mischievous smile returned. "And with you running the clan now I suppose that makes you the Keeper!"

Tylis and Endrin both started laughing. When the laughter had subsided, Tylis said, "Please don't start calling me Keeper Tylis."

Endrin nodded, the same smile remained on her tattooed face. "Ma nuvenin… Keeper!"

The two friends both started laughing all over again. As their most recent bout of laughter began to subside, the both looked up to see Eebon, looking down at them with an amused expression on his normally grim face. He was still encased in the Blood Dragon Armor minus the helmet, and Yusaris once more rested across his back. Both Tylis and Endrin looked with confusion at the severed darkspawn arm that he held. The mage and Dalish both smiled up at him, waiting for Eebon to speak.

"Good morning Endrin, Keeper Tylis." Eebon said, and couldn't keep himself from grinning, Tylis scowled in mock anger and Endrin started laughing again. "Could the two of you keep Ronin here for about… five minutes? I've been training him how to track and I need some time to go hide this thing." He lifted the severed arm.

"Sure." Endrin said, clapping her hands twice for the half-breed to come to her, and then began petting him.

Eebon started walking outside the gate, dragging the arm along the ground as he walked. He looked back over his shoulder at Ronin and said, "If you find this thing then I'll give you some more whiskey."

Ronin barked happily and watched his master disappear.

Tylis looked at Endrin and said, "He gives the dog whiskey?"

Endrin shrugged. "I suppose he does."

Eebon left the walls of the Vigil and quickly started moving in a random pattern, sometimes dragging the darkspawn arm to leave a scent trail, other times lifting it free of the ground so Ronin would have to anticipate where the trail picked up again. As he did so he thought about the months he'd been the proud owner of Ronin. The half-breed was already proving himself to be every bit as intelligent and loyal as mabari, but the similarities between Ronin and his wolf side went beyond physical appearance as well. Ronin had a predatory cunning that was absent in the domestic mabaris, and more independent. While his sire, Dune, had gone to any lengths to please his master, and was highly empathetic, Ronin on the other hand was far more self-reliant.

Eebon continued to walk in odd patterns, leaving a scent trail, until finally placing the darkspawn arm in thick patch of bushes. He was only starting to make his way back towards the keep when he both heard and felt something break underfoot, like he'd just stepped on a glass bottle. He only had time to draw Yusaris before the trap exploded, spewing acid up out of the hole it had been buried in, and sending dozens of razor sharp metal shards flying in all directions.

Since he still wore his armor, Eebon was protected from the worst of it. Whatever kind of acid it was, it wasn't strong enough to eat through dragonbone, but a few drops still made it to his exposed face, and Eebon yelled out in pain as he felt his skin start to dissolve. In addition, the fumes from the acid blinded him, and as he gasped for air they scorched his throat and lungs. His armor likewise protected him from the metal shards, but two of them still made their way to his face, cutting him deeply across the cheek and forehead.

Through the blur of pain, blood, and acid fumes, Eebon saw a dark figure explode from the same cluster of bushes he'd tossed the darkspawn arm into, and made its way directly towards him. Eebon let go of his restraint and instantly felt the familiar rush of berserker rage fueled strength rush through his body, numbing the pain he felt and turning the edges of his vision blood red. For the briefest of moments he saw Rendon Howe's face flash through his mind's eye, and he was suddenly back at Highever, looking down at the butchered bodies of Oriana and Oren, his mother on her knees at his side, weeping for them.

Eebon roared his warcry and ran to meet the assassin, Yusaris in a two hand grip over his shoulder. His pain forgotten, and his labored breathing and blurred eyesight only a minor inconvenience.

* * *

Ronin's ears shot straight up, every fur on his body stood on end, and he looked in the direction that his master had walked away in. Endrin and Tylis both noticed the sudden change that came over the dog. Ronin lifted his head as if peering into the distance, and after a few more seconds he pulled free of Endrin and sped off after his master.

Endrin glanced at Tylis and lifted her eyebrows inquisitively. "What was that all about?" She asked.

Tylis shrugged. "I don't know anything about animals, but… Ronin sure looked upset about something."

Endrin nodded. "That's what I thought." She stood up, reaching for her quiver of arrows and Falon'Din's Reach. Looking at Tylis again, she saw that he was already on his feet and picking up Revas. "Let's go take a look." She said needlessly.

"Right behind you." He answered.

They were both aware of the scraping of talons on the wall above them, and the hawk that had been perched there took to the sky, following them as they hurried after Ronin.

* * *

Being a berserker, Eebon more was more or less immune to pain. But there were other elements involved in a battle, like whether one could breathe or not. The acid and subsequent fumes from the trap were badly impairing his ability to do so, the acidic fumes were also affection his vision, as was the blood that fell freely from the deep cut on his forehead and into his eyes. And just to add insult to injury, he hadn't managed to mark the assassin one single time, and the assassin was being infuriatingly patient. He had a bow of some sort across his back but refused to use it, instead relying on a longsword. The assassin would stay out of range of Yusaris, but only by a matter of inches. Every time Eebon lunged forward to attack, he would shadow the movement, leaping backwards and then lunging back in to strike before Eebon could recover.

Eebon was tiring of the game of cat and mouse, and he spun in a full circle, putting every ounce of his strength into one powerful swing. Instead of keeping both his hands on Yusaris, he let go with his left hand, swinging only with one so that he could get a longer reach. But the assassin saw that coming too, and ducked under the blade, and while Eebon was off balance from the massive swing, the assassin charged in, ramming a shoulder into Eebon's chest and sending him falling backwards. The assassin jumped after Eebon, stepping on his chest with one hand and Eebon's sword hand with the other foot, his longsword raised above his head pointing down at Eebon's face.

The assassin seemed to forgot however that Eebon had two arms, and before he could bring the sword down, Eebon swung his left arm into his legs, sending him toppling as well. Just as Eebon was rising to his feet the assassin kicked him in the head sending him back to the ground, then sat up, swinging his longsword over his own head and towards Eebon's, the berserker only had enough time to raise his left arm, using his dragonbone armor like a shield to block the blow. The assassin rolled away and came to his feet, driving his longsword into the ground and reaching over his shoulder for his bow and an arrow. As Eebon pushed himself to his feet as well, the assassin loosed his arrow, and while it missed its mark it still grazed Eebon's neck, opening his carotid artery.

In the midst of a berserker rage Eebon felt no pain, and her certainly felt no loss of power. He was fully aware of the injury, but at the moment it was only another inconvenience. Eebon raised Yusaris above his head and roared again and he jumped forward. The assassin had been expected him to at least slow from the injury, and the surprise registered on his face at Eebon's assault. This time he was a fraction too slow to leap back from the greatsword, and the tip of Yusaris cut through his leather armor and painfully through his flesh, across his chest and abdomen, but not deep enough to be fatal. As Eebon brought Yusaris back for another strike, the assassin dashed backwards again, bringing the bow up with the arrow aimed for Eebon's face.

He was never able to fire however. Out of the pre-dawn light, Ronin charged in, leaping through the air and ramming his entire body into his chest with full force. Despite the fact that Ronin was only half-grown, the fury of the dog's assault brought them both to the ground, and the assassin soon found himself underneath a seething half wolf, half mabari. As Ronin reached for his face with open jaws, all the assassin could do was cross his arms in front of his face, and Ronin latched onto one of his wrists, instantly tossing his head back and forth, sawing deeper with his teeth.

Eebon stopped in attack at seeing his faithful dog tearing into the assassin, and he placed a gauntlet covered hand over his neck wound. He could already feel himself starting to grow weaker. "Kill!" He ordered Ronin, and the half-breed renewed his assault on the downed assassin, seeking his face and throat. It was all the man could do to keep the dog away from his vitals. The pained screams and pleas for mercy from the assassin might as well have been music to Eebon's ears.

"Eebon!"

The berserker turned at hearing his name called, and through the vanishing red haze he saw Endrin and Tylis running towards him, both of the Wardens had their weapons readied.

"Eebon, what happened?" Endrin asked, and the concern on both their faces only grew when they saw the bright crimson blood seeping from between the dragonbone fingers.

"He happened!" Eebon choked the words out and motioned with head towards the assassin, who was losing the battle with Ronin, the dog's fangs slowly moving towards his throat.

Without being asked, Tylis reached out with his magic sense and probed Eebon's wound. He was relieved to see that while it was certainly a life threatening wound, it wasn't very complex, and he should have no trouble healing it, he readied the spell before saying. "Eebon, you need to trust me on this one, but I need you to take your hand away so I can heal you."

Eebon gulped and gritted his teeth before doing what he was told, and Tylis instantly unleashed his healing powers in an explosion of blue-white light. Eebon's flesh regenerating and knitting together in the blink of an eye.

With her fellow Warden and friend out of life-threatening danger, Endrin turned to look at the downed man, Ronin's fangs now only scant inches from his throat. "Eebon…" She asked, "Don't you think that we should at least talk to him and figure out who he is and why he wanted you dead? For all we know he's just a hired blade and we should find out who sent him."

Eebon turned to look at the would-be assassin, and regretfully nodded and called, "Ronin, stop! Don't kill him… Guard!"

Ronin responded by stopping his forward push and settled with all four legs on the man's torso, yellow wolf-eyes locked with his, lips still curled back in a fiercesome snarl. Ronin thought, '_You even flinch, two-legs, and you're my next meal! No one attacks Eebon-Master as long as I'm alive!_'

Eebon purposefully moved to Ronin's side and knelt, looking at the man's face while at the same time placing a hand on Ronin's back. Eebon suddenly snarled in a way that almost matched Ronin. "I hadn't expected to ever see _you_ again!" He hissed through teeth clenched in hatred. "Hello Nathaniel!" Eebon rolled his hand into a fist and brought it into Nathaniel's face. Nathaniel mercifully blacked out.

"Do you know him?" Endrin asked needlessly.

"Once upon a time… in another life." Eebon answered as he stood up and Ronin stepped off the unconscious man. "He's the eldest son of _Rendon Howe!_ So I think we can rule out him being hired and sent after me." Eebon rolled his neck and all of them heard vertebrae popping as he did so, then he resheathed Yusaris across his back and effortlessly picked up Nathaniel, tossing him over a shoulder. "He's going to the dungeon." Eebon announced. "I'd like to have a word with him before he's executed!"

Tylis asked, "Should I heal him so that he doesn't bleed to death before then?"

Eebon grunted. "If you want."

* * *

_No matter how many times I play through Awakening I always get pissed off when Mhairi dies, I always thought she was a very cool character and deserved a bigger part... well now she's going to get it!_

_I know that Eebon kind of stole the spotlight for this chapter, and he's also going to be in the next chapter as well, but after that he's going to be gone for most of the story. For fans of Dharr and Kylae, don't worry, their day will come. I have plans for both of them._

_Personally, I never liked Nathaniel that much. It's made pretty clear that he idolized his father and he full on hated the Warden for killing him, but then he sees his old home again and just realizes that he wants his family things? In my opinion that just makes him seem like a weak-willed, indecisive, wanna-be thief. At this time I can't say how much of a role he'll play in the story, but I do plan to change things up._

_My previously mentioned move is steadily drawing closer, and I'm not sure I'll get the next chapter up before it happens, in which case it will probably be quite a wait... Some reviews would definitely motivate me to get it written and published before that happens! Having said that, thank you everyone who has reviewed it so far!_


	4. Pariah

_Of course I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the original version of this chapter, but after the review I received for the original version of this chapter, but special thanks go out to LyriumLove and Apollo Wings for their thorough reviews. I think this new version is quite a bit better. Please review... even if you already did! I know there's more people who are reading this!_

* * *

Nathaniel slowly opened his eyes. He briefly wondered if he was dead and in the Fade, but then realized his head hurt too much for him to be dead. Fittingly, the last thing he remembered was a large fist coming straight for his face. He looked down at his arms where the wolf-dog had latched on and was confused to see that the injuries were fully healed, replaced by a series of ugly purple scars.

"He's awake." A voice said a short distance away.

Nathaniel looked out through the sturdy iron bars of the cell he now found himself in. The voice had come from the fiery haired and bearded dwarf that he knew to be Roaran. The dwarf sat on the floor a few feet away from Tylis. The two of them each had a small pile of coins next to them and looked to be playing a game of dice

"I'll go get Big Man." Roaran said.

Tylis however held up a hand and said, "No, wait a few minutes. I just want a chance to talk to him before Eebon kicks down the door and charges in here."

Roaran chuckled at the thought of Eebon kicking down the door and killing Nathaniel with his bare hands. He sat back down on the floor to begin counting his coins.

Nathaniel stood up as Tylis approached the cell door and the two men studied each other. Nathaniel was tall, maybe as tall as Eebon but much leaner. A small patch of dark hair under his lower lip, longish dark hair, and piercing blue eyes all gave the captive a noble appearance, and Tylis was instantly reminded of Eebon. There was just something in the way that Nathaniel stood and carried himself, as well as his overall appearance that spoke of nobility, all those qualities were present in Eebon as well, as was the determination that was set in his eyes. There was a rage in the eyes as well that reminded Tylis of the berserker. In Eebon however, it was like a roaring fire, an all-consuming rage that focused him and drove him, in the Howe it was quietly subdued.

"So you're him…" Nathaniel said in a quiet but venom laden voice. "The tyrant who now rules in my family's place."

"Tyrant." Tylis repeated, "That's one thing I've never been called before." Behind him, Roaran started chuckling again. "You really came out here just to kill Eebon?"

"No." Nathaniel answered. "I was in the Free Marches being squired when I heard about the Battle of Ostagar and the subsequent blight. I came back to defend my country, but I was too late. By the time I arrived the blight was over, my father was murdered, my family dishonored, disgraced, and scattered, and the Grey Wardens having seized my family's ancestral home."

Tylis swallowed. Again, Nathaniel had reminded him of Eebon, as Eebon's own sad story was very similar to Nathaniel's. "And so you decided to further sully your family's name by murdering the Warden Commander of Ferelden?"

"What else could I do?" Nathaniel said hatefully, stepping closer to the bars of the cell. "Run off and join King Teagan's army? Slink off back to the Marches and life a life in dishonor as exile and mercenary? Or perhaps go to my father and Loghain's old supporters and attempt to rekindle the civil war?" He stopped talking and paced back and forth across the small cell. "I had no choices left!" He said, his subtle voice finally rising. "The only thing I could do is avenge my father by killing the one who killed him!"

"Don't you even know what your father did?" Tylis asked.

"Yes. I know he fought in a civil war, the losing side of a civil war. Who's to say whether it was the right side or the wrong?"

"He killed Eebon's family in their own home! He usurped the Arling of Denerim and slaughter the elves there! And if Loghain had won, then he was going to kill him and take the entire kingdom!"

"Were you there?" Nathaniel growled. "Were you in any of those places when that happened?"

Behind Tylis, Roaran started laughing again. "That actually makes sense." He said before falling back into a fit of chuckling.

"Look…" Nathaniel continued. "I wasn't here either, so I can't say what did or didn't happen. All I know is that my father was a good man… he was a hero! And now he's dead and I'm alive suffering the consequences. What would you do if you were in my place?"

Tylis didn't answer. He couldn't answer even if he wanted to, because it was a position that he could never find himself in, having no family to speak of, and being a mage it was illegal for him to own anything more than the clothes on his back. His standing has risen after becoming a Grey Warden however, although Nathaniel's position… as well as Eebon's, was still one that he could never understand, nor put himself in.

Of course, with Roaran being the dwarf he was, he answered for Tylis. "I would have done the same sodding thing." Then he stopped and grinned, "Actually that's what I already did with Lordship and his little brother Bhelen. And it's what Big Man did too… And isn't it what you helped Leliana do?"

Tylis turned and glared at Roaran, the dwarf gave his trademark grin, then his trademark roaring laugh.

"Can you really condemn me?" Nathaniel asked.

"No." Tylis answered. "But fortunately it's not my place to judge you, as Warden Commander, that job falls to Eebon."

"I see." Nathaniel said, and he turned and faced the far wall for a few moments before looking back to Tylis. "In that case my death is assured. Would you grant me a last request?"

Even Circle Mages were familiar with how a last request could not be denied, but Tylis was afraid that the imprisoned man would ask for something he couldn't do. Still he asked, "What is it?"

"Would you kill me?"

Tylis blinked, he hadn't been expecting that.

"I would rather die by your hand… the hand of stranger, than by Eebon's."

Tylis looked back at Roaran again, if only because he wasn't sure what to say in answer. Roaran grinned again and replied in typical Roaran-fashion by lifting his battleaxe and saying, "If you don't want to, I wouldn't mind."

Tylis had a sudden urge to hit Roaran. '_This must be how Eebon feels around Roaran all the time._' He realized, remembering how many times Eebon and struck Roaran during their former mission. Instead he only looked back to Nathaniel. "I have an alternative." He suggested. "Join us! Become a Grey Warden!"

Nathaniel wasn't sure if he or the dwarf were more surprised by Tylis' suggestion. "Have you lost your mind?!" He demanded. "I just finished laying out why I don't like the Grey Wardens! If anything we're enemies! Why would you allow me to join?"

"Because the Grey Wardens have no bias. We're fighters, not judges. One's past doesn't matter, only their ability to fight the darkspawn, all are welcome! You said that your only recourse was to avenge your father and kill Eebon, I'm offering you a way to regain your lost honor. You said that the Grey Wardens stole the lands that belong to your family, I'm offering you a chance to remain here and assist in ruling them. I don't know if you're the last Howe or not, but the fate of your family is in your hands now. How do you want to be remembered?"

* * *

As Tylis and Roaran walked back out of the dungeon with Nathaniel in tow and into the courtyard, Tylis and Nathaniel both wrinkled their noses in disgust, Roaran just made a grunting noise. Eebon and everyone else who was still able to was carrying the dead bodies, both human and darkspawn out of the keep. The darkspawn were dumped unceremoniously in a heap outside the walls, while the dead humans and elven servants were placed side by side where they would wait for a mass pyre to be built for them. I was gruesome, disgusting work, but it had to be done.

Roaran slowed his pace, hoping Tylis wouldn't notice, he intending to slink back off to a quiet corner until all the corpses had been dragged out, but Tylis did notice him and grabbed the reluctant dwarf by the shoulder.

"Not on your life!" Tylis hissed.

Roaran groaned and followed the mage again.

Eebon laid the body of dead elf, one of the stable hands, in the line of bodies and muttered a quick prayer as he closed the young elf's eyes. When Eebon stood up again he saw Tylis and Roaran, with Nathaniel standing behind them. Eebon's berserker rage came to life again, and his right hand came over his shoulder, releasing Yusaris from its resting place.

"You!" Eebon yelled and started quickly advancing towards Nathaniel. He stopped out of surprise more than anything else when Tylis stepped in between the two of them, lyrium runes flaring to life on Revas.

"No!" Tylis shouted. He prepared an ice spell to freeze Eebon's feet in place should he keep advancing towards the new recruit but he never casted it. "Commander, Nathaniel has become our newest recruit, he's one of us now!"

"What?!" Eebon yelled, and everyone stopped to watch what would happen. "You can't be serious!"

"I am." Tylis answered back, and he almost released his spell when Eebon took a step closer.

"Are you _insane!?_" Eebon roared.

Tylis as well as his old Warden friends could tell that Eebon's control was dissolving, and he put more power into the ice spell that he'd conjured but was still had released.

Eebon hadn't moved from where he stood, but Tylis could tell from the half-crazed look in his eyes that he was losing the battle with his berserker side. "His damnable farther killed my family in our own home! He hunted us all throughout our quest, he slaughtered Kylae's people in their own homes, and so much more that we probably don't even know! And now this cretin comes to finish his father's work, and you not only let him live, but give him a place in the Wardens… _No!_" His gaze moved to Nathaniel and his hand flew to Yusaris, drawing the legendary blade out in a flash. "Pick up your weapon, we settle this now!"

Tylis almost squeaked in fear. '_Nathaniel doesn't even have his weapons!_' He'd never had to confront Eebon when he was in berserker mode, and it was one of his most terrifying moments. He looked around at his other friends, Roaran was backing away, content to merely watch events unfold. Kylae, likewise was only watching, and expression of amusement playing over her elven face. '_The elf is a sadist!_' Tylis thought for a moment. Then he saw Endrin.

Endrin stepped between Tylis and Eebon, she had Falon'Din's Reach in hand but all her arrows remained in her quiver. Endrin put a hand against his chestplate, and when he didn't back down, Endrin slapped him across the face with her longbow. "Enough!" She shouted, and when Eebon finally did look at her, the rage immediately started to drain from his face. "You are acting like a rabid dog! Have you forgotten already what you are? You are the Warden Commander of Ferelden, or did I make a mistake in giving that position to you!?" Endrin slapped his across the face with her bow again. "You were the one who taught me to be a Warden, and what it meant to you! You are the one who taught me that we are not who we were before the Wardens, we cannot give in to old vengeances, we are above that! Nathaniel wants to become a Grey Warden and you want to kill him for it! What kind of commander are you?"

Eebon backed away from Endrin, shaking his head as if to clear it, the rage quickly dying in his eyes. He lowered Yusaris until the tip of the blade touched the ground. As he touched his now red-marked face from where Endrin had hit him twice he said, "You… You shame me lethallan. I am sorry." Then he looked at Tylis and said again, "I'm sorry."

"_Pffftt…_" Kylae groaned as she rolled her eyes behind him. "Damn… was hopin' to see 'nother good brawl."

Eebon ignored the comment of his fiancé and he slowly replaced Yusaris across his back. "You." He said to Nathaniel, and his voice was still laden with hatred. "I need to hear you say it, not Tylis. Do you wish to join our Order?"

"Yes." Nathaniel said through his teeth, the loathing that passed between of them was almost tangible, and they could all see that his hands were clenched into fists and were shaking at his sides.

"Why?"

"Because it is my only choice! Because while I have no love for you or your Wardens and what they've done to my family, this is still my home, and I would defend it. The people of Amaranthine are still my people, and even if they would not have me, I would still guard and defend them the darkspawn and whatever else might come."

One corner of Eebon's upper lip curled back briefly in a snarl of hatred, but then his features softened a fraction. "Well spoken, Howe." He said, and although his voice was still filled with hatred for the man in front of him, the rage was gone. "If all that is true, then I would indeed have you among our number." He looked around at the other Wardens, namely Tylis. "Come, my friends. We have another Joining to do."

* * *

Endrin sat on the edge of the roof of Vigil's Keep, she shivered slightly against the chill of the night air and pulled the hood on her cloak up over her head. She wished that she hadn't left her wolf-skin cloak back in the New Dales, but the long green cloak that she now wore had been gifted to her by Ashalle shortly before she left, and since receiving it, she'd almost constantly worn it.

Not far away, Sten was quietly chanting meditations in his native Qunlat tongue, all but completely oblivious to the cold. Endrin knew that her giant friend much preferred warmer weather, but he was far too disciplined to start complaining about something as trivial as a chill.

She looked down the road that she knew Eebon, Kylae, and the other's who'd come with them had used to return to Soldier's Peak. They'd left almost as soon as Nathaniel's Joining was over, and Endrin hadn't missed the look of disappointment on Eebon's face when Tylis had announced that the Howe was still alive. She already missed Eebon and Kylae, and for the brief time that the two of them had been at the Vigil it had almost felt like their journey to stop the blight all over again. Endrin shuddered briefly at the thought of the blight, and pushed it from her mind. They'd all lost so much in the blight, some more than others.

For an instant Endrin saw Alistair's face flash through her mind's eye, and she suddenly recoiled, feeling a variety of emotions rush through her, anger, loss, sadness, love, frustration, and others that she wasn't even sure how to describe.

Glancing over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps, Endrin saw Tylis approaching, once more wearing his green and gold mage robe. She smiled at the relief from her thoughts that Tylis provided. "Aren't you cold?" She asked.

Tylis chuckled and shook his head. "I cast a spell that keeps a pocket of warm air around me. Would you like it as well?"

Endrin brightened at the suggestion. "Of course! Ma serannas."

Tylis made a short motion with one hand and mumbled something under his breath, and Endrin soon felt pleasantly warm. Tylis looked at Sten, and although he knew the towering qunari would never actually ask, he cast the spell a third time. Sten broke his quiet chant long enough to thank Tylis, and then picked up where he'd left off again.

"What are you doing up here… and why are you always in high places?" Tylis asked as he sat down next to Endrin with his feet dangling over the side.

Endrin arched a single eyebrow. "Am I?"

Tylis chuckled, "Yes! I remember that whenever you stood watch, you'd usually be in a tree. I swear you can climb better than squirrel."

Endrin laughed as well. "I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration, lethallin. But yes, I do like being in trees or other high places. I suppose it's just because everything looks different from higher up."

"Can you really see anything out here in the middle of the night?"

"No, not really." Endrin admitted. "But I couldn't sleep… bad dreams. So then I thought I'd come up here… human beds still feel strange to me." She motioned with her head to where Sten sat cross-legged behind them. "He came with me."

"Does he always follow you around?"

Endrin chuckled again, "Usually."

Tylis' face turned serious as he asked, "Was it a Warden dream?"

Endrin didn't answer right away because she honestly didn't know. In her dream she'd been on top of Fort Drakon again, seeing everything through her own eyes, but unable to move her body by her own will, it was more like reliving a very vivid memory. She'd watched as the Archdemon's head swooped down towards her, jaws wide open, then Alistair collided full-force with her, pushing her out of the way and taking her place in the jaws of death. Then after she'd delivered the death blow, a phantasmal dragon pulled itself out of the body of Urthemiel and took to the air before swooping back down and entering her chest. Endrin had waited for death, but death had never came, and then she'd woken up, covered in sweat with the blanket practically tied in knots around her body. Sten was already awake in his bed on the other side of the room, and was watching her as if unsure if he should wake her up or not.

"Maybe." Endrin finally answered as she shivered again, and this time it wasn't from the cold. "Do you still have them?"

"Yes. But they're not as frequent anymore."

"I had hoped that with the end of the blight they would stop too, but I guess that would be asking too much…" Endrin looked at Tylis and arched an eyebrow again. "And why exactly are you awake?"

Tylis grinned. "I haven't been able to sleep well since I become the commander… or arl, depending on how you look at it. It's too much responsibility." His grin disappeared, "And with the ambush that just happened here… I lost so many people, and I didn't even know most of them." He turned his head towards Endrin and even in the darkness she could see how sad he looked. "You were the commander for more than a year and you never even lost a single skirmish… not only that, but none of us died, not until the final battle. I've been the commander for less than a week and my first major battle was a slaughter! I don't even want to try to think of it as a win!" He could feel the pressure building up in his throat and behind his eyes.

Endrin was no stranger to pain or loss. She could read the look on his face easily enough, and slid closer to him so that she could put an arm over his shoulders. In the time since they'd first met, Endrin and Tylis had been through all sorts of hell together, Tylis even being captured and thrown into Loghain's dungeon. The experiences he'd had should have been able to harden anyone, and yet for some reason, Tylis still retained his tender-hearted nature and boyish innocence.

"It's alright, Tylis." Endrin said quietly as she squeezed held him tighter for a moment. "Nothing that happened here is your fault. We're going to fix this… and take our vengeance on the darkspawn for what they did."

Tylis leaned his head into Endrin's shoulder. He knew that it unbecoming for a commander to be act like this in front of a subordinate, but he still thought of Endrin as his leader in some ways, and Endrin was more than that. Endrin was the big sister that he'd never had. Endrin continued to hold him until his moment of weakness had passed and he returned to his normal self.

Tylis stood up first and dusted off his backside, then offered a hand to Endrin, who accepted it. "Seneschal Varel tells me that Bann Esmerelle and the other nobles are coming to the Vigil tomorrow to swear fealty to me." Tylis gave his characteristic grin. "I think this will be the first time in Ferelden history that anyone's had to swear loyalty to a mage!"

Endrin sighed as they made their back inside and Tylis cancelled the spell that was keeping the three of them warm. Endrin said, "I will never understand why you humans have so much distrust in magic and fear of mages."

Tylis chuckled again before saying, "And sometimes I wish I was a Dalish! I love the way your people view magic!"

Endrin nodded and smiled mischievously. "Goodnight… Keeper Tylis."

The young mage tried to scowl at being called Keeper again, but it quickly turned into a grin. "You're going to keep calling me that, aren't you."

"That's my plan."

* * *

Nathaniel wandered vacantly through the darkened hallways of his ancestral home. Some of the passages were lit by torches placed in holders along the walls, while others were illuminated by moonlight, filtering through the narrow windows that doubled as arrow slits in case of a siege, while still others had no lighting at all. After almost a decade in the Free Marches, his memory of the keep was somewhat lacking, and more than once Nathaniel walked into a wall or other obstruction in the dark.

It was good to be home, and Nathaniel was able to glean some small amount of comfort from the fact that it was once again his home. At the same time however it was strange. It was so much more quiet than he could ever remember it, everything was fundamentally different, and he supposed that much of it stemmed from the fact that he was the only Howe present, very possibly the only Howe still alive.

When he'd returned to Ferelden, the first thing he'd done was to inquire about his family. Fortunately, he discovered that his time abroad had dimmed the memory of himself from the minds of most of the people he'd encountered, only one man had actually recognized him and had agreed to keep Nathaniel's return a secret. He'd quickly found out about his father's death, as well as the numerous rumors that had surrounded it. His father's killer had hardly kept the fact a secret, indeed the entire kingdom knew that it was Eebon Cousland who'd killed Rendon Howe, and it disturbed him how most of the people he'd met since returning seemed to rejoice over it.

As for his brother and sister, they had seemingly disappeared. The word in the City of Amaranthine was that his sister, Delilah, had married a commoner of all people, and had disappeared shortly after that. Nathaniel was able to take some small comfort knowing that her engagement to Eebon that both their families had pursued for a time had never happened. He scowled at the mere thought of having Eebon as part of the family. His youngest sibling, Thomas, had also seemed to drop off the face of Thedas. Almost as soon as word of their father's death had reached Amaranthine, Thomas had vanished into thin air, and apparently most people now considered him dead, assassinated by Howe's enemies during the civil war. The last time that the two brothers had seen each other, Nathaniel was almost twenty, but Thomas had still only been a boy, just starting to come into his own and discover himself. Nathaniel wondered what kind of man his brother had become.

Voices floated up the hallway coming from the kitchen, and Nathaniel followed them out of curiosity. He found the dwarf, Roaran, and the snarky blonde mage, Anders seated on opposite sides of a servants table. Anders had a heaping plate of food in front of him, and Roaran with a large steel tankard and a cask of ale.

"So just what kind of name is Anders?" Roaran asked, shaking droplets of ale from his disheveled, flame colored beard. "Anderfellian or something like that?"

Anders laughed around a mouthful of food, but thankfully had the decency to swallow before he answered. "Anderfellian… that's a good one my dwarven friend. I'm not sure if that's actually a word or not, but I might have to start using it all the same. But no, I took the name Anders because I came from the Anderfels. I least I think I do, I've been in Ferelden as long as I can remember, but I do know that it's not my real name."

"So what is your real name?" Roaran asked as he poured himself another tankard of ale and began noisily drinking it.

"No offense, but I'm not telling. My name is probably the only thing in this whole world that is completely mine! So I'm not giving it up."

Roaran might have raised his eyebrows at the response, it was hard to tell considering that his hair and beard covered most of his face. "You're a very strange human, you know that?"

Anders laughed again, "So I've been told. Personally I take it as a compliment. So what kind of name is Roaran?"

"Dwarven of course!"

"I should have seen that one coming."

Roaran belched and drained the last of his tankard in one long draught.

From where he stood in the doorway, Nathaniel noted how it looked as if Anders and Roaran had been going at it for a while, and at the rate Roaran was guzzling ale, he'd probably had more than a gallon already, but didn't appear to be the slightest bit drunk.

"So how 'bout a friendly drinking contest?" Roaran asked. "If I win then you tell me your real name, and if you win, then… then…" He glanced up at the ceiling as he thought of an appropriate reward. "Then I'll cut you in on my… _business_ in the city."

"Tempting." Anders grinned. "But I'm not so sheltered as to accept a drinking contest with a dwarf!"

Roaran laughed and drained the full tankard, then he shook a finger at Anders as if lecturing him. "I'm gonna figure out that name o' yours sooner or later!" That was when Roaran finally looked over and saw Nathaniel standing in the doorway. "Hey, new guy!" He boomed happily. "Come-on in, grab a seat! Grab a pint! You can help me figure out the Anderfellian's name!"

Nathaniel glared at Roaran for a few seconds before walking to the table and sitting on the far end from the two Wardens. "Thank you." He said, and it was obvious from his tone that he didn't mean it. "I cannot tell you how much appreciate being invited into my own home to sit at my own table."

"Don't mention it." Roaran said, still using his boisterous friendly voice, which he probably only did to further infuriate the man. When Nathaniel didn't make any move towards the food or ale, Roaran poured another tankard and slid it towards the newest Warden.

Nathaniel looked to the deep tankard which had come to stop directly in front of him, and at the dark ale that swirled around inside. He could smell the grain that it had been made from, along with a slight fruity scent and hint of cloves. It was an autumn brew, and if he wasn't mistaken it had been made right here at the Vigil. He wondered if Samuel was still tending the grounds, the older elf had been quite the brew-master before Nathaniel left, perhaps he'd made this very ale. As he lifted the tankard to his lips and took a sip, he had to smile.

The taste of the drink brought back a flood of memories with it. Sitting in front of a roaring fire while his father told him, Delilah, and Thomas stories about the haunted Black Marsh, and heroic tales of battle from the war with Orlais. Stories like that scared Delilah, but in Nathaniel they had awakened a hunger. He'd wanted to ride out into Black Marsh and slay the monsters that infested it, making it safe once more for habitation.

"May I ask you something?" Nathaniel said.

"If I said no, would it stop you?" Roaran grinned, guessing that he was the one Nathaniel was talking to since he was looking straight at him.

"Perhaps." Nathaniel answered before saying, "Do all Grey Wardens have the nightmares?"

"Did you see a really big dragon?" Roaran asked.

"No… I was… somewhere underground, and I wasn't alone, but I couldn't see who I was with, I could only hear them from time to time. We were looking for something, but I don't know what… and there was this…" He stopped suddenly. Repulsed both by the thought that was he was sharing such information with Grey Wardens, and from remembering the dream itself. Even though he was a Warden now, becoming one hadn't done much to lighten his feelings towards their order. The way he saw it, the Grey Wardens were bullies who'd swooped in out of nowhere, seized control of pretty much everything, and killed anyone who wouldn't stand with them.

"Yeah that kind of sounds like a Warden dream to me." Roaran said casually, ignoring how Nathaniel had suddenly stopped talking and was glaring at the two of them again.

From across the table, Anders said, "Warden dream? What exactly is that?"

"Part of bein' a Warden." Roaran shrugged. "We have these dreams that are kind of like tapping into the darkspawn's mind… Worst dreams ever… and they always leave me thirsty!" He lifted his tankard for another long pull of ale.

Anders shook his head as he chuckled, "Is there anything that doesn't leave you thirsty?"

Roaran thought for a second before he grinned and said, "Not that I can think of, but if I ever do come up with something I'll be sure to let you know!"

The two Wardens laughed, and Nathaniel only continued to glare. After another minute of the intolerable banter between Roaran and Anders, he asked, "So is there anything good about being a Grey Warden?"

Roaran thought about the question for a moment and answered. "It's good for getting women."

Anders immediately started laughing. "I knew I joined the right group!" He said happily. "And for me, it means the templars can't touch me anymore!"

"Wonderful…" Nathaniel muttered. "I'm stuck for the rest of my life with an apostate mage and a buffoon of a dwarf!" He lowered his voice before saying, "And just to top it all off, the Warden Commander is my father's murderer."

"Nice isn't it?" Roaran grinned. "Hey, what's a buffoon? I'm not sure I've heard that one before."

"An idiot." Anders supplied.

Roaran grunted, this Nathaniel was started to wear on him. "Better than you, human… I ain't the one who got my arse kicked while trying to avenge the death of a traitorous father by killing the Warden Commander… who's a sodding hero mind you."

"Shut up!" Nathaniel yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. "You don't know anything about it! My father was a hero too! He did nothing wrong! He just fought on the losing side of the war!"

"You're the one who doesn't know anything about it." Roaran growled, his jovial mood now completely gone as he reached under the table and pulled out his battleaxe, he leaned the weapon against the table. "I'm casteless, but I ain't stupid! And you might be a Grey Warden now, but don't you think for one minute that buys you any points with ol' Roaran here.

Nathaniel's eyes locked onto the axe, the weapon was huge! Almost as tall a Roaran, and from tip to tip the head of the axe must have been a foot and a half or more.

"You're just the kind of person I love to hate! An entitled bastard who's lost is so called 'honor' and is blaming all the wrong people for it." Roaran lovingly ran his hand down the haft of his weapon. "Mage Boy and Tattoo might have the patience to deal with someone like you, but not this Duster! Now get out! You're spoiling our meal and my good humor."

When the human proved reluctant to leave, Roaran gripped the axe just under the head and shouted, "Get out!" And this time Nathaniel did.

As soon as he was gone, Roaran laid his axe down under the table again, his trademark grin across his face once more as if nothing had happened. The dwarf happily grabbed his tankard lifted it to his lips quickly draining it.

"How many drinks is that for me?" He asked.

It took a second for Anders to find his voice. The extreme shift in Roaran's behavior was somewhat unsettling. "_Umm_… I think eleven, but I could be wrong."

Roaran happily poured himself another. "Here goes twelve!" Then, almost like it was an afterthought he said, "Remind me not to like that guy."

Anders couldn't help but to laugh at the last comment. "I don't think will ever be a problem, but sure… if the two of you ever start acting friendly I'll give you a heads up."

"I'll drink to that!" Roaran beamed and held his tankard out over the table. Anders toasted him and two both tipped their heads back and drank.


	5. The New Arl

_Hello again readers. I'm sorry for the late update, but I was on a very nice and very lengthy vacation and working on my story was one of the last things on my mind. I'm still trying to get settled at my new place, and my work schedule is going to be very different than it was before, so updates will still probably be a bit slow. With all that said, hope you like this newest chapter, I certainly enjoyed writing it!_

* * *

Tylis couldn't help but to smile as he walked through the hallways of Vigil's Keep towards the throne room. He was wearing the ancient elven armor again, and carried Revas in his right hand. The armor and weapon were more for the sake of ceremony than any other reason. Tylis didn't think that anyone would be stupid enough to attack him in a room full of witnesses, Grey Wardens, and soldiers. He might be the arl, but more importantly he was a Warden, and as such he thought that he should appear as a warrior. But it just felt good to be wearing his armor again and being surrounded by Grey Wardens once more. He knew that every Warden felt differently about being part of the order, but as for Tylis, he liked it.

Another door opened and Mhairi stepped out, wearing her set of red steel armor with the helmet under her arm. Every piece of armor polished as much as possible in the short amount of time she'd been afforded during the evening and following morning. When she saw Tylis she quickly snapped to attention. "Good morning Ser." She said, and Tylis had to struggle to keep from laughing, mostly from the thought of a knighted warrior showing such respect to a young mage like him.

"Good morning Mhairi." He returned, "And don't call me that. I'm not a 'Ser', I was never knighted."

"Should I call Arl Tylis, or Commander?" Mhairi asked before Tylis even got the chance to continue.

Now he did laugh. "Just Tylis is fine. I guess if there's a lot of people around then 'Commander' would be fine."

"Yes Commander… Tylis… Sorry, I'm still used to life in the army. I hadn't expected the Grey Wardens to be quite so informal."

"We're an order of warriors, not a military. But we're more than that, we have to leave our old lives behind, and in doing so we have to become a family for each other.

Mhairi looked sidelong at Tylis and repeated the word, "Family?" That was going to difficult. She could make do with mages, they were at the very least Andrastrians and Ferelden citizens. Although Endrin was Dalish, she seemed pleasant enough, and she was the one who killed the Archdemon after all. Roaran was… Mhairi had no idea what to make of Roaran. She barely met the dwarf and already she knew that he was incapable of taking anything seriously, and although he was certainly a very skilled fighter, he was nothing like how the legends circulating the kingdom portrayed him as. And then there were the more unscrupulous characters, like the apostate Anders, the fugitive Howe, and the blood mage Kensha, the worst of them all.

As the two Wardens entered the throne room they found that several of the nobles had already arrived, come to swear fealty to the new arl. Kensha was also there, still wearing the peasant clothing she'd acquired after escaping the Circle of Magi. Nathaniel stood across the room from her, arms crossed across his chest and looking particularly irritated.

Mhairi looked at Kensha and narrowed her eyes in hatred of the blood mage. Kensha's jaw tightened and a muscle in her face twitched involuntarily in response.

Sten entered the room a few seconds later, and some of the nobles predictably moved away from him in fear. Endrin had actually been ahead of Sten, but as usual, Sten's imposing figure drew all the attention.

As the minutes passed the throne room was slowly filled with banns, arls, nobles of varying importance, and several knights, come both to swear allegiance and to witness the ceremony. Finally Sergeant Maverlies and Seneschal Varel took their places near Tylis. Varel loudly clapped his hands for silence and called loudly. "My lords and ladies! I present to you the Arl of Amaranthine and Commander of Vigil's Keep, Tylis Amell of the Grey Wardens!"

Some of the nobles and other spectators applauded and cheered enthusiastically, while most only clapped in a polite fashion, and then there were others who scowled and crossed their arms over their chests.

Tylis looked to the back of the room where Endrin stood looking bored and uninterested. As soon as she saw Tylis looking at him her eyes widened and she smiled, giving him a pantomime that signaled him to say something

"I know that…" Tylis started, then he had to stop, swallow, and find his voice again before starting over. "I know that I am both a Grey Warden and a mage… and that… neither mages nor Wardens are supposed to become arls. But please, I just ask you to trust me. Don't look at me like a mage or a Warden, just view me as a Ferelden. I want nothing but the best for both the arling and Ferelden. We have defeated the blight, now we must live in peace and work together to overcome whatever obstacles lay ahead of us."

Beside Tylis, Varel nodded in approval and across the room Endrin smiled encouragingly at her younger friend. Tylis swallowed again and felt some his apprehension disappear as the room full of nobles gave way to another round of applause this one sounding more sincere.

"Thank you, Arl Tylis." A middle aged woman with thing lips said, pushing her way past her fellow rulers. "I am Bann Esmerelle Laysan from the City of Amaranthine. And as such, I promise that I will be faithful to the you in the matters of life, limb, and earthly honor. Never will I bear arms against you or your heirs. So I say in the sight of the Maker."

"And I thank you most sincerely, Bann Esmerelle." Tylis answered, "And I will not forget your promise."

Bann Esmerelle stepped backwards into the crowd, glaring with unmistakable hatred at an older, white haired and bearded man who pushed his way past her and returned her glare with equal disdain. "Warden Amell," He said with a sweeping bow, as he stood back up he said, "I am Lord Airon Eddelbrek from the Feravel Plains. The strength of my house and my lands is yours, call if you have need of me, and I will do all that is in my power to come to your aid! The Maker and all those gathered here are my witnesses."

Tylis nodded again at the elder man. "Thank you my lord." He answered.

At the back of the room, Endrin groaned and leaned backwards against Sten, she was so much smaller than him that her head barely came up to his chest. She was so bored watching the procession of human nobles come forward and swear fealty to Tylis as their arl. At first it had been somewhat amusing to watch the pompous shemlen forced to bow to someone who was barely old enough to be considered a man, and a mage no less. Even though she still had no idea why Andrastrians looked down on mages so much. The blessing bestowed on them by the Creators were so obvious. Endrin leaned her head up to look up at Sten and she instantly recognized the distant look on his face, like he was staring off into distance and was seeing something that no one else could see. Endrin knew that look, she'd seen it hundreds of times before, Sten was in a state of meditation. Apparently he was just as bored by ceremony as she was and had put himself in a meditative state to avoid the slow agony. '_Ingenious as always._' She thought to herself

Endrin tapped his chest with her head, and Sten's eyes came back into focus, he blinked twice then looked down at her. Endrin gave her small smile and motioned towards the door with her head. One corner of Sten's mouth turned up and he nodded. The two of them had been standing at the back of the room near the door anyway, so very few people noticed their departure.

"The politics of this country continue to not interest me." Sten said in his quiet, rumbling voice.

That voice had always reminded Endrin of a distant thunderstorm. "Me too." Endrin agreed, and then she smiled happily to herself. She'd always loved storms, even when she'd been a da'len, especially thunder storms. She didn't know why, but she'd always found a kind of peace in their rage, and Endrin felt that Sten was much the same. "So what should we do until the shemlen nobles leave? Hunt? Train?"

Sten remained quiet for a few moments before he answered. "Tell me a story. Another of the Dalish stories."

Endrin was surprised to say the least. Sten had never been one for stories before, he'd always dismissed them as either legends or figments of someone's vivid imagination. It took her a few moments to recover from her shock and reorganize her thoughts. "_Umm…_" She said, still a bit lost. "Do you know the story of the brothers Falon'Din and Dirthamen?" It was just the first story that came into her mind.

"No." Sten answered predictably. When the two of them had been in the New Dales, Sten had never scoffed at or made fun of any aspect of the Dalish culture or religion, although it was clear that he didn't believe any of it.

Endrin cleared her throat as she started the story. "The two oldest children of Elgar'nan and Mythal are the twins Falon'Din and Dirthamen. Their love for each other was so great that they could not bear to be separated, even at the moment of their birth they were together. That is why when we speak one of their names we must speak the other as well, so that even in our stories they are together.

"When the world was young, before the Elvhen, the humans, the dwarves… and probably the qunari walked the earth," Endrin stopped long enough to grin and laugh quietly before she picked the story up again. "The gods were the ones who walked the earth, and Falon'Din and Dirthamen were among them. Both of them loved the many natural wonders of this world. They played with the animals, whispered to the trees, and bathed in the lakes and streams. Their days were filled with happiness, and for a time that would have spanned many lifetimes they did not know what sorrow was.

"And then one day, while passing through the forest, Falon'Din and Dirthamen came across an old and sickly deer resting under a tree. 'What's wrong, little sister?' asked Falon'Din.

'Play with us,' said Dirthamen.

The deer said, 'I cannot. I am old, and although I want to go home, my legs can no longer carry me.'

"Falon'Din felt badly for the poor creature and gathered her up into his arms, saying to her, 'Come with me, my friend, and I will take you to a new home where you will never be old or frail.' He carried her to the Veil where the deer's body was left behind, and from there Falon'Din continued to carry her spirit onward, into the Beyond. Dirthamen tried to follow them, but he became lost in the shifting grey paths beyond the Veil. Separated for the first time from Falon'Din, Dirthamen wandered aimlessly, hopeless, and in physical pain because of the loss of his twin. And then he came across two ravens.

'You are lost, and soon you will fade.' One of the ravens named Fear said to Dirthamen.

'Your brother has abandoned you. He no longer loves you.' said the other, whose name is Deceit. The two of them are the fathers of their kind, the first of all ravens. Immortal, wise, and so very twisted.

'I am not lost, and Falon'Din has not abandoned me!' replied Dirthamen. And in his sudden anger, he fought and defeated the ravens and forced them carry him to Falon'Din. The ravens had no choice, because Dirthamen had bested them and now they are bound to Dirthamen's service for all time.

When Dirthamen found Falon'Din, he also found the deer, who was young once again, because her spirit was finally released from her weakened body. Both Falon'Din and Dirthamen rejoiced to see the deer, and much more to see each other, for they had never been separated before. Falon'Din vowed that he would remain to carry all the dead to their place in the Beyond, just as he did the deer. And Dirthamen stayed with him, for the twins cannot bear to be apart."

As Endrin finished the story, she looked at Sten and was again surprised to see that he appeared to be mulling over the story, carefully thinking over every word and analyzing it for all possible meanings, it was his way. What surprised Endrin was how Sten was taking the story so seriously, he'd never cared for sort of religious aspect before.

"I will never see my own brothers again." Sten said, a far off look in his eyes.

"You…" Endrin cocked her head to one side, "Do you mean the Beresaad, or your real brothers?"

"The Beresaad are my true brothers. But when I chose to remain at your side, I also chose never to return to them. And should I ever see my people again I would be killed as a traitor for turning my back on them as I have."

Endrin blinked several times, she wasn't sure what she could say. She often thought of returning to the Sabrae, or seeing the day that her old clan would come to the New Dales and she would finally rejoin with them. She could not even imagine what it would be like to see them again only to be executed at the hands of her former clan-mates. Endrin only continued to stare at her friend, her mouth slightly opened in shock.

"I envy you, my Kadan." Sten said, he normally used her given name now, but on occasion would revert to his qunari name for her.

Endrin's shock only increased at his latest confession. "How… What…" She couldn't seem to find her words. "You… Sten you… Why would you envy me?"

"I am not Sten, not anymore." He rumbled. "Endrin, Kadan, Warden, my friend… what am I? I am not a Grey Warden, nor an elf like you. I am not a Fereldan. And I am no longer a qunari. Have I-"

"Wait!" Endrin stopped him. "What do you mean you're not a qunari."

"Qunari is not the name of my kind." He explained patiently. "It is the name for one who follows the Qun. Those who break it are known as tal'vashoth, heretics, they are the worst enemy of the qunari. Is that what I have become? Have I become the opposite of what I was? The enemy of all that I once aspired to be?"

"No!" Endrin said quickly, reaching up and putting a hand on his shoulder. "No! You could never do that! I still see you meditating on the Qun, and reciting your meditations. How have you turned against it? You are here with me hunting the darkspawn, how is that not serving the Qun?"

"It is because I am here with you. You… everyone here are bas in the eyes of the qunari. By the will of the Qun, I should have returned to my brothers as soon as Asala was returned to me. At first I told myself I was still answering the Arishok's question in helping you in your former quest, but when that was over, I found that I could not tolerate the thought of leaving your side as you had become a true friend and battle-sister to me. I will remain with you until death takes me. But…" Sten dropped to one knee so that he could meet Endrin at eye level. "But I have lost myself. Who am I, Endrin? What am I? What have I become?"

Sten had a way of pointing out shortcomings in peoples thinking, or making a philosophical debate that would always leave Endrin confused about her own beliefs. To Endrin's way of thinking Sten had not changed at all from the day she'd first met him, but Sten spoke so rarely of himself, his own desires, or his culture that even now it almost impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Could you be a Sten of the Grey Wardens?" She asked.

Sten froze for a moment. Endrin's question had surprised him mostly because he himself hadn't considered it first. "I truly had not considered that." He answered, and Endrin grinned happily. Her smile disappeared as Sten continued, "It has occurred to me that not all who follow the Wardens are Wardens themselves. But no… I am not a Sten of the Grey Wardens. A Sten is a military leader, and so in the most basic terms I might not have been Sten since before you first met me. When I was at your home in the New Dales I was a teacher and mentor in the schools of warfare… an honorable life to be sure, but now that I am here, what am I? Am I only your follower and friend? If so, then I feel my life has become without purpose, as it would only be an extension of yourself."

"So…" Endrin started, racking her brain for a solid answer that she could give the giant. "You said that the qunari themselves are not a race? What is the name of your kind?"

"My kind no longer have a name of their own, for all races who join the qun are one. If you were to become one, then you would no longer be known as a Dalish, nor even an elf, but as a qunari."

Endrin blinked, and again found herself at a loss for words. She was just now find out how ignorant she'd been about Sten's people, and she suddenly wished that she had pressed him more often for information about them and his culture. Furthermore, being a Dalish was an identity in itself, one that she had been born with and carried with her every day of her life, which made the thought of losing it and becoming a qunari convert even more unthinkable. A certain part of Endrin pitied Sten for having to grow up and live under such a strict and inflexible ideology.

Endrin swallowed and cleared her throat before asking, "But what was your race called before the Qun? They must have been called something! Wouldn't that be what you are?"

"No." Sten answered. "Before the Qun, my race was called kossith. But the kossith are no more. There is only the qunari and the tal'vashoth."

"How can you say the kossith no longer exist? You can't stop being what you are just because you don't want to be that anymore. If I somehow had the vallaslin removed from my face, and my ears cut, then I would still be an elf. Moreover I would still be Dalish."

"That is irrelevant." Sten replied, although he did find Endrin's way of thinking to be both very different from his own, and somewhat amusing. "Even if it were true, it still does not answer of question of what I am." He sighed tiredly and stood up to his full height again. His eyes reflected the sorrow he felt as he said, "I now fear that I have made a mistake in not returning to the Arishok, and that I have lost myself."

"No!" Endrin said fiercely. "You did what you thought was right, and what I think is right."

"Perhaps." He rumbled. "Or perhaps it was only what I wanted to be right. I need to find my place, my friend. And I fear that I will not able to do that at your side."

At hearing his plans and insinuation that he would leave her, Endrin quickly closed the distance between the two of them and hugged him,. "Sten-" Endrin started but was cut off.

"I am not Sten."

"Yes you are!" She still spoke quietly, but her voice reminded him of when she led him and her Wardens, and she had made up her mind on something.. "You're still Sten! You haven't changed! Sten please… just stay with me! I've lost too much too fast, and you've been the only constant for me, you've been the only one who'd never left me, who always stayed with me! You can't leave me now!"

Sten didn't answer right away, he only continued to embrace his friend around her shoulders until he felt her arms loosen around him. Sten released her and again looked unflinchingly into her eyes. "Kadan…" He said slowly. "Why have you never asked me why I have no horns?"

Endrin arched an eyebrow at the seemingly random question. "Qunari have horns?" She asked.

Sten laughed quietly before saying. "I forget sometimes that you have never seen another of my kind, and that the Dalish in this kingdom have never interacted with them. But yes, most qunari have horns. Sometimes however, one is born without them, and it is believed that it is a sign of greatness to come. For a time I believed that I was destined to become an Ashkaari, a future Arishok, or perhaps even Qunoran Vehl after my death. But now it seems my future is tied with that of the Grey Wardens." Sten's hand enveloped her entire shoulder when he gently squeezed. "I will remain with you Endrin… and search for my destiny."

* * *

Back in the throne room, the last of the nobles had sworn fealty to Tylis. '_To Tylis…_' He thought bitterly. '_And Amaranthine was to be my inheritance!_' He crossed his arms again and glared at the young mage. It was obviously clear that he didn't have a clue what he was doing as an arl. It only remained to be seen what kind of commander he would make. Nathaniel could feel his anger staring to rise again, and he started to breath deeper and force it back down, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on a better time, but considering everything that had happened to his hand his family recently he couldn't think of any. The thought that he'd become a Grey Warden almost set him off. '_The same damned people who murdered my father! Why did I have to accept Tylis' offer?!_'

Nathaniel uncrossed his arms and began to make his way to the door. He needed to get away from these people. As he neared the door he bumped shoulders with an older man, Nathaniel twisted out of the way without apology or even looking at who it was. He stopped however when the man said, "Nathaniel? Is that really you?"

He finally turned to look at the man, who looked to be in his late fifties, a thick but neatly trimmed salt a pepper beard covering his jawline and chin. Unlike the other people who filled the room, this man looked to be desperate for something. "Ser Bensley." Nathaniel said, surprised that the old knight even remembered him. "How have you been?"

"Not well…" The old warrior said, looking down at their boots and shaking his head. "Not well at all."

"What is it?" Nathaniel asked out of sheer instinct. At that moment he really didn't care what was troubling the man, he just wanted to excuse himself as quickly as his built in ethics would allow and get the hell out of there!

"It's my daughter…" Ser Bensley said, unintentionally raising his voice, "She's been taken!" He looked around quickly to make sure that no one had overheard him.

"Taken?" Nathaniel repeated, stepping back into his corner away from everyone else. At this point he wasn't sure if Edgar Bensley meant kidnapped or just 'disappeared'. Beautiful young noble daughters running off with some young cavalier or the second son of some nobleman was relatively common, and they usually returned eventually. "What do you mean?"

Ser Bensley glanced around nervously again, as if he was afraid that someone would see or overhear him. "My daughter…" He sobbed quietly, "My beloved Eileen… she's been taken… kidnapped! She told me that she was just going into the city, and she disappeared! The next day I received… this!" He handed Nathaniel a rolled piece of parchment, and Nathaniel quickly unrolled and read it.

'_Ser Edgar Bensley,_

_My name is Mosley. Around these parts I am better known as Mosley the Snake, I'm sure that you're aware of my reputation. I'll get right down to the point since we're both busy men. I have Eileen, and just so you know I'm not making this up, she was wearing a bright red dress, has short dark hair, nice breasts, and a truly annoying voice, (especially considering that she keeps begging for her life)._

_If you want her back (and seriously, what father wouldn't), you will bring thirty gold sovereigns to the chantry at Forlorn Cove._

_I don't want to kill your daughter Edgar. She's beautiful, smart, and unless she's lying, still pure. And if you'd like to keep it that way, you'll be smart and pay the money. I'd hate to let my boys have a go at her before I cut her throat, but make no mistake, if you don't bring the money I will do exactly that! You need her back, and I need the money._

_Don't be stupid!_

_ Yours Truly,_

_ Mosley_'

Nathaniel felt his jaw lock involuntarily, and his hand closed into a fist. He was barely able to give the letter back to Edgar without destroying it.

"I can't afford that." Ser Bensley explained. "I would have paid him, but I really don't have the money. Practically all of my resources were spent during the blight, and I am no longer the warrior that I once was. And so I came here to present my case to the new commander and ask-"

"Don't tell the commander." Nathaniel heard himself interrupt the older man, although he hadn't even thought about saying it, his voice seemed to act on its own. "I'll handle it myself."

Bensley's eyes widened as he replied, "Are you sure?"

"Definitely sure." Nathaniel answered, and now he was in control of his voice more. He wanted this, he _needed_ this! A chance to both serve _his_ people and vent his anger. "I will leave immediately. Just give me one day, and I swear to you that I will get daughter back!"

"Please be careful!" The old knight pleaded, "She's all I have left in this world!"

Nathaniel only grunted as he began to make his way back to his room for his armor and weapons, he made a point of avoiding any of his fellow Wardens as he did so.

* * *

Tylis was starting to see why Eebon had chosen the life of a warrior and Warden over the life of a nobleman. Politics were absolutely tedious. After hearing every landowner in the entire arling come and swear allegiance to him, he'd been rather unsubtly told by his seneschal that he needed to interact with them and show that he cared. The most frequently brought up topic was how they wanted his forces to defend their own lands. By far the most two vocal people in that respect had been Esmerelle and Eddelbrek, the two of them had started a shouting match and Tylis had thought that if they'd had weapons they would have drawn them.

He wasn't surprised to see that Endrin and Sten had disappeared. Roaran had never even bothered to come to the ceremony at all, and if he knew Roaran, then the dwarf was down in the kitchen making a bold attempt to drink all the ale in the keep. He was surprised to see that Nathaniel had also disappeared, and looking around the room he also saw that Kensha had seemingly vanished, making himself, Anders, and Mhairi the only Wardens still present for an occasion that they _all_ should have been there for.

Tylis glanced quickly around the large throne room and saw to his relief that there was only more noble that he hadn't personally spoken to.

"Warden Commander." She greeted him as he approached. She was slightly taller than Tylis and was slender to the point of being skinny, which only made her look taller. Her clothes looked expensive, but Tylis has been outside the Circle of Magi long enough to know when something was made to look expensive and actually was expensive.

Tylis smiled politely and bobbed his head. "Ser Tamra." He remembered her from when all the nobles and other landowners had sworn fealty. She had owned the smallest plot of land, and so had been last to present herself.

"Over the last six months we have all heard so many stories of you and your companions bravery. The tales of your adventures are so numerous and spread like wildfire so that it is becoming impossible to tell which are true and which are fiction." She paused and glanced around as if she was scared about being overheard before saying in a much more quiet voice, "The people are very happy to have you as their arl… as am I."

Tylis glanced around as well, but from what he could tell there wasn't anyone who looked to be eavesdropping. "But…?" He asked, sensing that there was a 'but' coming.

"But not everyone feels the same way."

"I can imagine." Tylis said, "It can't be easy owing service to someone who is not even of noble blood, and a mage like me."

Tamra stepped further away from the crowd of nobles before lowering her voice so that it was just above a whisper. "These men and women… they answered to Rendon Howe before you. Some of us resisted him, and we were dealt with harshly for it! Others did what he asked out of fear. And then there were others who… acted willingly. I fear that their intentions are… less noble than their names."

"And whose names would those be?" Tylis asked, and he found himself talking in a voice just as quiet.

"Not now." Tamra answered. "I will return when everyone has left and things are quiet once more. Just be careful Commander." The lady knight bowed and made her way for the door along with her fellow nobles who were starting to leave as well.

Tylis ran his hands back through his hair, it was a nervous habit of his. He was worried this duel job of Eebon's second-in-command and the Arl of Amaranthine was going to be the end of him. After his chat with Ser Tamra he was already starting to worry that if the darkspawn didn't get him first, then the nobles who'd sworn to serve him would.

Running his hands though his hair again Tylis sighed deeply. He'd only been in his new position for a few days, not even a full week and for what was not the first time he was wished that he hadn't accepted the position of Warden Sub-Commander. Dharr would have been so much better equipped, having been born and raised in Orzammar where politics literally were murder. He wished the stoic dwarf were with him now. He could just picture Dharr grunting quietly, and with a scowl across his face, asking a few of the nobles some very direct questions, and possibly making some thinly veiled threats before discovering the guilty party involved and dispensing quick justice.

He wished Eebon was the one at Vigil's Keep, and he was at Soldier's Peak. Eebon had also been born noble, and raised to think like one. Moreover, Eebon was the son of a Ferelden hero, and was not a mage. He remembered how just before the Landsmeet had taken place, Eebon had traveled around the city, always seeming to knew who to talk to and what to say to win them over to their side. Eebon wouldn't have been suffering through the problems that he was now facing. And Eebon was a berserker, who would be suicidal enough to go up against someone like that?

"Commander Tylis." It was Mhairi again.

Tylis fought the urge to run his hands through his hair again as he turned to face her. "Yes, Mhairi what is it?"

"Are you alright? The last of the nobles left a few minutes ago, and you've been staring at a wall for several minutes now."

'_Have I really been lost in my mind for that long already?_' He thought silently before answering. "I'm alright."

Mhairi kept looking at him for several seconds until Tylis realized that she was waiting for further orders.

"You and Anders find the rest of our Wardens. We need to discuss our next course of action."

Mhairi slapped a fist to her armored chest in salute. "Yes Commander… I mean Tylis." Tylis had to laugh as he watched Mhairi make for the door and shout at Anders, "Would you stop flirting with the servant? She has enough to deal with without putting up with the likes of you! Now come-on! We need to go find the others, Tylis says he wants to talk with us."

"Of course my dear, fellow Warden!" Anders beamed as he fell in behind her. "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth!"

Mhairi stopped and glared angrily at Anders, who was too slow raising his eyes from her posterior to her eyes, Mhairi's expression turned from annoyed to angry. "_You_ are going to walk _in front_ of me from now on! And if you so much as _touch_ me… then I'm really going to enjoy cutting off whatever body part you used!"

Anders swallowed but his smile never disappeared. "As you wish Mhairi… I have no problems taking orders from a woman."

Mhairi brought a fist back and from where Tylis stood and watched he was afraid that her armored fist would connect with Anders' face. Fortunately however, Mhairi slowly lowered her still clenched fist before growling, "Move mage!"

Tylis waited until the door was closed behind them before he started laughing.

* * *

Nathaniel checked himself in the mirror to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. He was once more dressed in his custom fitted leather armor, his longsword and dagger were sheathed at his side, and his longbow and quiver were across his back. He glanced to his right where a light traveling pack and a smaller satchel rested on a shelf. The pack contained several traps he'd already constructed, and the satchel held his poisons and tools for making more. He quickly decided against taking the traps, but grabbed the poison satchel and slung it over his shoulder as he made for the door.

Upon leaving his room and stepping back out into the hallway Nathaniel jumped slightly as he came face to face with Kensha, her arms crossed over her chest and her staff leaning against her shoulder. A scowl was pasted across her face.

"And where do you think you're going?" She demanded.

"I'm going for a ride!" Nathaniel growled as he closed the door behind him. "Not that it's any of your business." He started to make his way towards the stables through one of the servants entrances so he could avoid going back through the throne room. "Now go away… you're not invited!"

Kensha ignored his last command and quickly caught up to him so that they walked side by side. "Liar." She said evenly, "You're geared up like you're going into battle, I can smell poison and herbs coming from that bag of yours, and then there's the fact that I saw you talking with some old knight back there… What did you ask you to do? Where are you going?"

Nathaniel stopped walking and spun on his heel to face her. "Why do you care, blood mage?! And why are you following me?"

"Blood mage?" Kensha repeated, and her grip on her staff tightened. Her voice lowered as she said, "What do you think you know about it? What do you think you know about me?"

"I know you're a blood mage, and that you ran to the Grey Wardens to hide from the templars… just like that fool Anders. What else do I need to know?"

Kensha's lip curled back in a snarl before she spat, "Is that any better than you Nathaniel _Howe_? Your father betrayed his own friend Bryce Cousland and killed him in his own home, then went on a murderous and power seeking rampage! I wonder if you had any part in planning that. You're certainly devious enough, and being in the Free Marches certainly made for a good cover… And your first act in returning to Ferelden was to try and kill Bryce's son Eebon… The Warden Commander! You're a real chip off the old block aren't you Howe?"

"Shut up!" Nathaniel flared, and his voice raised until he was almost shouting. "You don't know anything about it, or my father, or me!" And then he saw the smirk that came across Kensha's face.

"It's not so nice when other people start making assumptions about you is it?" She said with a certain venom.

"Kensha… What do you want?" He finally gave in.

"I want to go with you wherever you're going. These walls are just as much a prison for me as Kinloch Hold was, and everyone here looks at me like I'm some kind of predatory beast waiting to attack… especially _Mhairi!_" She said the name with total disgust. "I'm not sure what you're up to, but I want in… I need this Nathaniel… I need it just as much as you do!"

After a few moments of deliberation Nathaniel sighed and said, "Can you ride?"

"Ride? You mean like on a horse?"

He rolled his eyes as he responded. "Yes."

"No."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes again. "Of course you can't… Come-on, I'll show you how to saddle one, and then teach you the basics on the way."

* * *

Due to Kensha's inexperience with horses, the trip to Forlorn Cove took much longer than originally planned. The two of them couldn't move any faster than a moderate trot, and when Nathaniel tried Kensha promptly fell off her horse… twice. The mage's relief was beyond words when Nathaniel announced that they were getting close to Forlorn Cove and that they should dismount and tie up the horses. Kensha groaned quietly before saying, "I have muscles aching that I didn't even know I had."

Nathaniel tried his best not to laugh at her pain, but couldn't help but think that it served her right for her insults and her demanding to be brought along. "Shut up." He said quietly as he led his horse to a small stream and tied the reins to an overhanging branch, then knelt by the stream and filled his hands with water for a drink himself.

Kensha followed his example and also tied up her horse. "What's the story about this place?" She asked.

Nathaniel scowled. "This is a bad place. A long time ago there used to be a small fishing village here. When a hurricane came up the people locked themselves in their homes to wait out the storm, but the storm was much stronger than any of them had been expecting, and it destroyed the village and killed most of the people who had stayed. Since then it's been a hideout and haven for bandits and other criminals."

"Oh… I assume you have a plan on how you're going to deal with the kidnappers who have taken up residence here?"

"Not really." He shrugged, and Kensha stared at him in disbelief and anger. Nathaniel said, "They're expecting Ser Bensley to come, so when I show up I'm going to have to explain why he's not here… he's an old man now, so I'll say that his health and the shock of losing his daughter were too much for him and he sent me instead… after that I just have to convince them to hand over Eileen and then make our escape."

"It's that simple?" Kensha asked sarcastically.

"Probably not." He answered.

"Well I have an idea!" Kensha announced, a cocky smile across her face.

* * *

Mosley the Snake looked up from his meal of rabbit when one of his sentries called out that someone was approaching the ruins of the chantry where he and his followers had made their base. "Probably Bensley coming to pay us our due." He glanced at the captive Eileen who sat in one corner with her hands tied and her mouth gagged to keep her from pleading. He saw her eyes widen in anticipation of rescue. "Don't get too excited…" He said sadistically, "You're not going anywhere if it's just some passerby, and even if it is your dad then you're not going anywhere unless he has thirty gold sovereigns!"

As he moved around the crumbling walls of the chantry he quickly saw that it not Bensley who was approaching. The man who was still coming closer looked to be in his late twenties, was covered in very expensive looking leather armor, and was armed to the teeth. Fortunately for both the stranger and Eileen, the man didn't make a move for any of his weapons.

"That's close enough!" Mosley called out. "Who are you and what do you want!"

"I've come for Eileen!" Nathaniel called back.

Mosley snorted. "You're not Ser Bensley! Who in the Maker's name are you?"

"Does it really matter?" Nathaniel retorted. "My employer couldn't make it, his old age and the shock of having his daughter taken from him have put him in a state not at all conducive to travel, so he asked me to come in his place." He untied a coin purse from his belt and held it towards Mosley. "Do you want to get paid or not?"

"Course I do!" Mosley yelled back, "Toss it here and she's all yours."

Nathaniel laughed humorlessly. "How much of an idiot do you think I am? I give you money now, and then you decide to hang onto Eileen and demand another payment a few days later? No! You're not getting anything until I see her!"

"I should have thought of that first…" Mosley muttered under his breath, then he looked back to his man who was guarding the captive. "Bring the bitch over here." After Eileen had been brought out, he yelled, "Alright, you see her! Now give me the damn money!"

"Not until you let her go!"

Mosley growled in annoyance and pulled a dagger from his belt, then grabbed Eileen by the hair and held the dagger to her throat. "Are you playing with me!?" He roared. "Do you have any idea who I am!? I'll kill her… Maker as my witness I'll kill her! Now gimme the money!"

Nathaniel swallowed hard, hoping the plan would still work, he hated putting an innocent's life in the balance, but it was their only chance. "No!" He shouted back. "Let her go, then I'll pay you!"

Mosley growled again and shouted something that probably wasn't even a word before answering, "No games! You filch on the payment and the bitch gets shot full of arrows, and then you're next!"

"That sounds fair."

Mosley shoved Eileen away from him and towards Nathaniel. "Get outta here!" He hissed, then looked at one of his men armed with a bow. "Keep your eye on her." He ordered, and the man notched an arrow in response.

When Eileen reached Nathaniel, he grabbed one of her arms to keep her from running away and whispered, "When I push you, just stay down until it's all over. We have a plan… trust me." Then before the girl even had a chance to respond, Nathaniel tossed the coin purse to Mosley who reached out and caught it with both hands.

As soon as the bandits hands closed around the purse there was the sharp sound of breaking glass, a fraction of a second later the acid from the vial that the purse had contained burned through the thin leather and onto Mosley's hands. Mosley dropped the remains and screamed in agony as the skin and flesh of his hands began to dissolve, leaving only acrid smoke behind.

Nathaniel pushed Eileen away from him, and fortunately for all of them she had the good sense to go down and stay down. "Now!" Nathaniel shouted, drawing his own bow and an arrow, while at the same time the bandit next to Mosley released his arrow straight at Nathaniel. From where she hid behind a large rock, Kensha cast her spell, and a shimmering blue force field sprang up around both Nathaniel and Eileen, causing the arrow to bounce harmlessly off. Nathaniel released his own arrow, which hit the bandit archer in the stomach, not killing him, but putting him on the ground and taking him out of the fight. Nathaniel drew another arrow as three more outlaws appeared from the ruins and came towards him. He fired at the closest, but the bandits armor managed to protect him.

Kensha conjured another spell and a reddish cloud of magical poison appeared in the palm of her hand, she pushed her hand towards the bandit that Nathaniel had shot at as she finished the spell and the red cloud shot towards him, homing in on his chest. On impact, the man dropped his axe and fell to his knees, grabbing his head and screaming in pain. Out of sheer panic he shambled towards the next closest outlaw and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Help me!" He pleaded, then he screamed in pain and his entire body exploded into a shower of gore, and chunks of flesh and bone. The man he'd grabbed onto was thrown backwards into the wall of the chantry. Nathaniel's next arrow took him in the shoulder.

There was only one kidnapper still in the fight, and he was rapidly closing in on Nathaniel. The Grey Warden dropped his bow and unsheathed his sword. As their blades met, Nathaniel could tell that the outlaw was a good deal stronger than himself, but had probably never received any sort of training with the blade, he was a brute, nothing more. When the outlaw swung at Nathaniel again, he ducked under the blade, swinging his own longsword into his leg. To his enemies credit, the outlaw held onto his sword and swung again as soon as he crashed into the ground, but Nathaniel nimbly jumped backwards and out of range, then lunged in closer again and cut off the man's sword hand at the wrist, before he'd even had time to scream, Nathaniel plunged his sword down into his chest, pulling it out again just as quickly, then made his way to where Mosley the Snake was still writhing on the ground in pain.

"You asked me who I am." Nathaniel said grimly, looking down at the former bandit leader, who stared back up at him with hate filled eyes. Nathaniel's own eyes held nothing but contempt for the man. "My name is Nathaniel Howe… I've come home!" He raised his sword again and brought the tip down through Mosley's chest. After pulling the blade free he went to check the bandit archer, who was on the ground as well with the arrow still protruding from his shoulder, a dagger held defiantly in his hand. Nathaniel dispatched him as well without even coming within range of the dagger, then he made his way back to where Eileen was, Kensha was already there, doing what she could to comfort the girl.

"W-w-who are you people?" A terrified Eileen stammered. "Did my f-father send you?"

"Yes he did." Kensha said quietly. "My name is Kensha, this is Nathaniel, we're Grey Wardens."

"Come-on." Nathaniel said, leading the way back to the horses. "Let's get you home."

* * *

_Nathaniel is ending up with a much bigger part than I had originally intended, at least for now. We'll see how that turns out later. I'm not quite sure where I'm going to take this story or what is going to happen, so if you an any suggestions then please drop me a PM and let me know. And as always, reviews are very much appreciated._

_Also, I've been beta-reading for another DA:O story called _'From Humble Beginnings' _by _jankmaster98. _It's a very good story, and is also very AU. In some ways I think it's better than my own. Anyways, it's not nearly getting the attention that it deserves, so please check it out._


End file.
